Histopathology of keratotic papules of the limbs in frontal fibrosing alopecia

Abstract

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is a scarring type of alopecia that presents clinically as progressive frontotemporal hairline regression and eyebrow loss, mainly in postmenopausal women. An additional common finding is keratotic papules on the face or (less commonly) on the trunk and extremities. The histopathology of the facial keratotic papules associated with FFA is the same as that of lichen planopilaris. There are very few FFA cases with biopsies from extrafacial sites and no cases of folliculocentric keratotic papules with biopsies from extrafacial sites. In the current report, we describe the histopathology of one such keratotic papule from the arm of a 75-year-old woman with FFA and show that the morphology is that of lichen planopilaris and that the papules are identical to those found in Graham-Little-Piccardi syndrome.

Keywords: Graham-Little-Piccardi syndrome; frontal fibrosing alopecia; keratotic papules; lichen planopilaris.