Sodium valproate-induced cutaneous pseudolymphoma followed by recurrence with carbamazepine

We report a patient with a sodium valproate-induced cutaneous pseudolymphoma, presenting with an erythematous papule, histologically mimicking a non-epidermotropic T-cell lymphoma. Polymerase chain reaction study of the skin biopsy revealed monoclonal rearrangement of the T-cell receptor gamma gene. Withdrawal of sodium valproate was followed by regression of the lesion, but 5 months after substitution by carbamazepine, two further papules appeared, with similar histological features and a T-cell clone identical to the initial one. Carbamazepine was stopped and the lesions disappeared without relapse over a 4-year follow-up. Sodium valproate is very rarely responsible for a hypersensitivity syndrome, and our case is the first report of sodium valproate-induced cutaneous pseudolymphoma. The recurrence with carbamazepine may be due to a common effect on T-cell lymphocyte function. The return of the same monoclonal population shows that the recurrence of monoclonal T cells may be observed in benign conditions and is not an exclusive hallmark of cutaneous lymphoma.