An association between dermatomyositis-polymyositis and malignancy has been reported. However, controversy exists regarding a direct causal relationship between the two diseases. We describe a patient who had the concurrent onset and parallel clinical course of dermatomyositis and malignancy, and discuss the possible mechanisms for the association of the two disorders.

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, including dermatomyositis, are uncommon acquired autoimmune diseases, sometimes associated with interstitial lung disease. Myasthenia gravis, a separate autoimmune disorder involving the neuromuscular junction, has some overlapping clinical features but has only rarely been reported to occur simultaneously within the same patient. Here we present the firs...

The exact relationship between dermatomyositis and neoplasia remains a point of debate (1). In association with malignancy, dermatomyositis is classically regarded as resistant to treatment with steroids, and results after excision or treatment of the tumour are variable (2). We describe a patient who showed a dramatic response to steroid treatment with marked enhancement of her quality of life.

Introduction Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is a systemic autoimmune disorder in which the immune system targets the microvasculature of skeletal muscles, skin and other organs, with for the most part an unknown immunopathogenesis. Moreover, evaluation of disease activity remains challenging in juvenile dermatomyositis as muscle enzyme levels and inflammatory markers, routinely used in clinics,...

Background Despite modern treatment approaches Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) remains a serious and potentially life threatening disease. There are few studies which have documented mortality among large series of cases of JDM treated with modern therapeutic approaches. The Juvenile Dermatomyositis National Registry and Repository, UK and Ireland (JDRR) was established in 2000 to facilitate res...

A novel technique for preoperative MRI guided wire localization for targeted surgical excisional biopsy of muscle is described in a pediatric patient with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). This technique allows for preoperative localization of abnormalities seen only with MRI. Using this technique, the patient underwent successful targeted muscle biopsy for confirmation of the diagnosis and stagi...

Dermatomyositis and polymyositis patients have an increased risk of developing cancers. We have assessed the diagnostic values of serum tumor markers for the detection of solid cancer in dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients. Serum carcinoembryonic antigen, CA15-3, CA19-9, and CA125 were assayed by immunoradiometric methods in 102 dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients. All the patients had comp...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the prevalence of myositis-specific and myositis-associated autoantibodies and their clinical correlations in a large series of patients with dermatomyositis/polymyositis. METHOD This cross-sectional study enrolled 127 dermatomyositis cases and 95 polymyositis cases. The disease-related autoantibody profiles were determined using a commercially available blood testing kit...

The concentration of soluble interleukin 2 receptor was determined in serum samples from 19 patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The concentration of soluble interleukin 2 receptor in serum samples from patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis was higher than that in samples from normal subjects.