[Premature cutaneous porphyria caused by oral contraceptives (author's transl)].

Four women, aged 23 to 26 years, fell ill with cutaneous hepatic porphyria. All of them had taken oestrogen-contaning oral contraceptives three to eight years before the illness. In one instance there was a time relationship with a progestogen preparation. The clinical and biochemical signs were those of porphyria cutanea tarda, but contrary to this disease there was a shift towards heptacarboxyporphyrin in the uroporphyrin/heptacarboxyporphyrin ratio (thin-layer chromatography, classified according to Doss). This difference and the onset at an early age suggest that the described disease may be called a hormone-induced premature cutaneous porphyria.