Pruritus and brain tumours: A prospective and descriptive study

Marie-Anne Fardel; Emilie Brenaut; Dewi Guellec; Maxime Etienne; Maxime Fouchard; Romuald Seizeur; Laurent Misery

doi:10.1002/ski2.202

Pruritus and brain tumours: A prospective and descriptive study

Skin Health Dis. 2022 Dec 22;3(3):e202. doi: 10.1002/ski2.202. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Marie-Anne Fardel^{1

2}, Emilie Brenaut^{1

2}, Dewi Guellec^{2

3}, Maxime Etienne^{1

2}, Maxime Fouchard^{1

2}, Romuald Seizeur^{2

3}, Laurent Misery^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology University Hospital of Brest Brest France.
² University of Brest LIEN Brest France.
³ Department of Neurosurgery University Hospital of Brest Brest France.

Abstract

Background: Pruritus, especially localised to the nostrils, has been reported as a specific sign of brain tumours.

Objectives: The main goal of this study was to estimate the prevalence of pruritus in a group of patients with brain tumours. The second outcome was to better characterise this pruritus with a specific questionnaire and a skin examination.

Methods: From June 2020 to September 2021, all patients with a diagnosis of brain tumour were included in this prospective, monocentric study. If the patient suffered from pruritus, a dermatological examination was performed.

Results: Two hundred patients with brain tumours were included. Thirty-five of them suffered from pruritus (17.5%). Among them, 15 patients did not present with any skin disease, and 8 could have neuropathic pruritus according to the NP5 questionnaire. No patients presented with pruritus of the nostrils.

Discussion: This study did not show clear evidence of specifically localised pruritus induced by brain tumours.

Conclusion: Pruritus observed in patients with brain tumours seems not to be caused by the brain malignancies in most cases. The specific localization to the nostrils cannot be considered a specific marker.