Acquired ichthyosis and impaired dermal lipogenesis in Hodgkin's disease.

Epidermal lipid biosynthesis was normal in patients with mild ichthyosis due to Hodgkin's disease, but greatly reduced in one patient with severe ichthyosis. Dermal (sebaceous) lipid synthesis was decreased in all patients with Hodgkin's disease, whether or not they had ichthyosis, and was greatly reduced in the patient with severe ichthyosis. Neither the mechanism nor the possible relationship between the dermal and epidermal changes is understood.