Kalinova D, Reshkova V and Rashkov R
Dermatomyositis (DM) is a connective tissue disease, characterized by proximal muscle weakness, typical skin rash, creatine phosphokinase (CK) elevation, electromyographic abnormalities and inflammatory lesions on muscle biopsy. In adults with DM the most important feature is the increased incidence of malignancies. Several authors have reported coexistence of DM with various cancers (lung, stomach, colon, ovary cancer, nonHodgkin lymphoma). Dermatomyositis can develop as a paraneoplastic syndrome – constellation of signs and symptoms that are unrelated to the local effects of the primary tumor or its metastases and can present as the first sign of malignancy. We report two clinical cases of DM as a prodromal signal of lung cancer with different histopathological characteristics – respectively small cell lung carcinoma and combined carcinoma
