HERPES ZOSTER IN HEMATOLOGIC NEOPLASIAS: SOME UNUSUAL MANIFESTATIONS

Abstract

Of 475 patients with various blood dyscrasias, 24 developed herpes zoster some time during the course of their disease. Pain, which appeared from several days to several weeks before the development of the skin lesion, was the most consistent as well as the most confusing symptom noted. Cranial nerve involvement was not uncommon while generalized herpes zoster was observed in only 4 of the cases studied. Since herpes zoster occurs more frequently in lymphomas than in any other neoplastic disorder and is a common complication of chronic lymphocytic leukemia but rare in granulocytic, a relationship between lymphoid tissue and virus infections is suggested. Defective immune mechanisms in these cases may possibly cause a heightened susceptibility to herpes zoster. Therapy with radiation, alkylating agents and cortico-steroids pre-ceded the development of herpes zoster in twenty of the cases reported, suggesting a causal relationship.