[Oropharyngeal dysphagia as a first manifestation of dermatomyositis associated with colon cancer].

Abstract

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy associated with characteristic skin manifestations. In 15-20% of patients present with dysphagia, it is associated with nutritional deficiency, predisposition to aspiration pneumonia, decreased quality of life and a poor prognosis. There is a well-recognized association between DM and malignancies, including ovarian, breast, lung, and colon cancer. We report a case of a male patient aged 85 with DM associated with colon adenocarcinoma; progressive dysphagia was the first manifestation, and subsequently proximal muscle weakness and typical skin lesions were present. Given the clinical suspicion of DM as a paraneoplastic syndrome, tumor markers were order and a high carcinoembryonic antigen was found. A colonoscopy study and histopathologic examination revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma of the colon.