Acquired hypertrichosis lanuginosa (Q58832)

Patients with hypertrichosis lanuginosa acquisita grow lanugo-type (i.e., fetal) hair near their eyebrows and on their forehead, ears, and nose. Some patients have extensive involvement that includes the extremities, axillae, and trunk, but the palms, soles, and perineum are spared. The hair, referred to as malignant down, is fine, thin, and unpigmented, unlike the robust pigmented terminal hairs characteristic of hirsutism. Although acquired hypertrichosis may be provoked by other diseases or drugs, the presence of otherwise unexplained acquired hypertrichosis lanuginosa acquisita should prompt an extensive search for occult malignancy.