Acanthosis nigricans

How acanthosis nigricans is treated

Treatment for acanthosis nigricans aims to correct the underlying cause of your symptoms. This will usually cure the acanthosis nigricans or significantly improve the appearance of your skin.

Treatments that may be recommended include:

losing weight , making changes to your diet and taking medication toreduce the level of insulin in your blood
taking medication to correct your hormone levels read about treating Cushing's syndrome , treating polycystic ovary syndrome and treating an underactive thyroid
switching to a different medication if it's triggering your symptoms
surgery, chemotherapy , or radiotherapy for cancer

There's no specific treatment to get rid of the patches, buta dermatologist (skin specialist) may be able to recommend treatments such as creams or tablets that may help improve the look of your skin.

Outlook

Most cases of acanthosis nigricans are harmless and not a sign of anything serious. The skin patches often fade with time as the underlying condition is treated.

If you have inherited acanthosis nigricans from your parents, your patches may gradually get bigger before staying the same or eventually fading on their own.

Only in cases where there is underlying cancer is the situation very serious.If the tumour is successfully treated, the condition may disappear, but unfortunately the types of cancer that cause acanthosis nigricanstend to spread quickly and a cure is often not possible.

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 19 Jan 2018

Articles for acanthosis nigricans

Signs and Symptoms

Dark, velvety patches. If you have a canthosis nigricans, you'll have thickened, brownish-grey or black patches of skin. The patches will be dry and rough, feeling similar to velvet. They may also be itchy. You may also have lots of tiny finger-like growths from the patches. This is known as papillomatosis.

When to see a doctor if you have acanthosis nigricans?

Acanthosis nigricans is usually harmless, but as it can be a sign of something serious it's a good idea to see your doctor if you think you have it. They may suspect acanthosis nigricans just by looking at your skin. If the cause isn't clear, you may have blood tests to check your blood sugar or hormone levels, and you might need additional tests such asan endoscopy or X-ray .

What causes acanthosis nigricans?

Acanthosis nigricans sometimes occurs in people who are otherwise in good health, particularly dark-skinned people of African descent. However, in most cases it's a sign of an underlying problem or condition such as obesity , diabetes or abnormal hormone levels. Some of the main causes of acanthosis nigricans are: Obesity, Syndromes and hormone problems, Medication, Genes, Cancer.

How acanthosis nigricans is treated

Treatment for acanthosis nigricans aims to correct the underlying cause of your symptoms. This will usually cure theacanthosis nigricans or significantly improve the appearance of your skin. Treatments that may be recommended include: losing weight; taking medication to correct your hormone levels; switching to a different medication; surgery, chemotherapy , or radiotherapy for cancer.

Introduction

Acanthosis nigricans is the medical term for darkened, thickened patches of skin that usually develop in the armpit and around the groin and neck. It's not a condition in itself, but can be a sign of an underlying health problem. These underlying conditions aren't usually serious, although occasionally acanthosis nigricans can besign of Predictive genetic test for cancer risk genes .

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