TRIPE PALMS AND CANCER

Tripe refers to bovine foregut prepared for edible consumption (Fig 1). A condition in which the cutaneous features are ''similar'' to the rugose surface of tripe, although in miniature form, has been descriptively named tripe palms. Published synonyms for this condition include acanthosis nigricans of the palms, acanthosis palmaris, pachydermatoglyphy, palmar hyperkeratosis, and palmar keratoderma.1 The palmar surface of the hands in patients with tripe palms is thickened, velvety, or honeycombed and has exaggerated dermatoglyphics. Although these morphologic changes have rarely been reported as either an idiopathic finding or associated with nonneoplastic disorders, tripe palms has almost exclusively been observed as a cutaneous paraneoplastic syndrome (Table 1).1-64 Therefore, an investigation for an underlying malignancy is warranted for all patients in whom the diagnosis of tripe palms is established.