Lichen planus induced by interferon-alpha-2B therapy in a patient with cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Sir, Interferons (IFNs) are cytokines widely used in medicine for their antiproliferative, antiviral and immunomodulatory effects. Their most common side effect is an in ̄uenza-like syndrome characterized by fever, headache and muscle pain. Also, IFNs infrequently induce or worsen some dermatoses, such as herpes labialis, psoriasis, pemphigus and vitiligo (1). Several papers have referred to the induction or exacerbation of lichen planus (LP) in patients treated with IFN for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection (2, 3). LP has, however, rarely been described in patients treated with IFN without HCV infection or in patients with melanoma treated with IFN. We describe here a patient with a cutaneous malignant melanoma, stage III, HCV negative, who developed a mucocutaneous lichen planus after 3 months of therapy with recombinant IFN-a-2b.