Response of generalized granuloma annulare to alkylating agents.

The conditions of three patients who had generalized granuloma annulare responded favorably to treatment with alkylating agents. This mode of therapy in two cases was chosen on the basis of recent evidence that implicates delayed hypersensitivity mechanisms as forming part of the pathogenesis of granuloma annulare. Two patients had rapid clearing of their lesions. The response in one of these patients was observed during therapy for a concomitant plasma cell dyscrasia. The third patient had an unusual form of granuloma annulare that had evolved during a period of 28 years, with hand deformities secondary to fascial and tendon involvement and the production of contractures and lymphedema, which responded partially to therapy. The results lend further support to data implicating cellular immunity to granuloma annulare.