Cicatricial pemphigoid with anti-epiligrin autoantibodies in a patient with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the endometrium

A 71 year old female patient presented with erosions of the oral, genital and ocular mucosa, but without skin lesions. One year prior to the onset of lesions, a metastatic adenocarcinoma of the endometrium had been diagnosed. In perilesional skin, direct immunofluorescence showed linear deposits of C3 and IgG along the basement membrane zone. indirect immunofluorescence demonstrated anti-basement membrane zone antibodies which bound exclusively to the dermal side of 1M NaCl-split skin. In imm unoprecipitation studies, the autoantibodies bound a set of proteins characteristic of epiligrin/laminin-5, and they specifically immunoblotted the alpha-subunit of this protein. These results confirmed our presumed diagnosis of anti-epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid. Combined treatment with methylprednisolone and dapsone resulted in prompt remission, despite progression of her malignancy. So far, only eight patients with anti-epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid have been reported worldwide. Our patient represents the first case from Austria and is clinically and immunopathologically similar to previously reported cases.