Florid cutaneous papillomatosis

Florid cutaneous papillomatosis is a paraneoplastic syndrome that always occurs alongside an underlying cancer, causing the sudden appearance of numerous small, wart-like growths, one to three millimeters across, that begin on the hands and wrists before spreading over the body. The exact mechanism is unknown but is thought to involve growth factors secreted by the underlying tumor, most often gastric adenocarcinoma, though it is also linked to cancers of the breast, bladder, ovary, uterus, prostate and lung, as well as squamous cell carcinomas and lymphomas. About half of patients experience itching, and the condition is often accompanied by other cancer-associated skin markers such as malignant acanthosis nigricans; it is nearly twice as common in men, typically appears between ages 53 and 72, and tends to improve as treatment of the underlying cancer succeeds.