17/11/2025
🚭 Lung Cancer & your skin: What you need to know 🩺
We often think of lung cancer only in relation to the respiratory system, but its effects can also show up on your skin! It is crucial to know these signs, as in some cases, they can be the very first indication of the disease.
🔬 Skin symptoms to look out for:
1. Persistent Pruritus (Itching): 😫 Intense itching with no apparent cause (like allergies or dryness) may be linked to the disease.
2. Dermatomyositis: 🟣 Purplish skin rashes on the eyelids and extensor areas (elbows, knees), accompanied by muscle weakness.
3. Acanthosis Nigricans: ⚫ Areas of darkened, thick, and velvety skin, especially in folds (neck, armpits, groin).
4. Erythema Gyratum Repens: 🌊 A rare rash with "wave-like" or "wood-grain" patterns that migrate rapidly across the skin.
5. Clubbed Fingers (Acropachy): 🥁 Thickening of the fingertips and nails that curve downwards. Although not strictly a skin symptom, it is an important peripheral sign.
💡 Why Does This Happen?
These manifestations are often paraneoplastic syndromes, meaning they are caused by the body's immune system response or by substances (like hormones) produced by the cancerous cells, rather than by the direct invasion of the tumor into the skin.
