Anti-nuclear Matrix Protein 2 Antibody-positive Dermatomyositis Associated with Cervical Cancer Recurrence after 6 Years of Stable Disease

Intern Med. 2022 Nov 15;61(22):3445-3448. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.9415-22. Epub 2022 Apr 9.

Abstract

A 79-year-old woman was evaluated for weakness, dysphagia, and elevated levels of creatinine kinase. Her medical history included stage IIIB cervical cancer eight years previously, which improved after undergoing radiotherapy. Two years later, cancer recurred in the right hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes, and the patient was successfully treated with chemotherapy. Physical examinations showed Gottron's sign, the V sign, the Holster sign, and nailfold erythema. Computed tomography revealed left supraclavicular lymphadenopathy, compatible with cancer recurrence. Anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (NXP2) antibody was found in her sera and a diagnosis of cancer-associated dermatomyositis was thus made. This case suggests that cancer progression over a period of years may have triggered the onset of autoimmunity against NXP2.

Keywords: anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 antibody; cancer-associated myositis; cervical cancer; dermatomyositis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Dermatomyositis* / drug therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* / complications