Dermatological manifestations in Costello syndrome: A prospective multicentric study of 31 HRAS-positive variant patients.

BACKGROUND: Data on dermatological manifestations of Costello syndrome (CS) remain heterogeneous and lack in validated description.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the dermatological manifestations of CS; compare them with the literature findings; assess those discriminating CS from other RASopathies, including cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome (CFCS) and the main types of Noonan syndrome (NS); and test for dermatological phenotype-genotype correlations.

METHODS: We performed a 10-year, large, prospective, multicentric, collaborative dermatological and genetic study.

RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were enrolled. Hair abnormalities were ubiquitous, including wavy or curly hair and excessive eyebrows, respectively in 68% and 56%. Acral excessive skin (AES), papillomas and keratotic papules (PKP), acanthosis nigricans (AN), palmoplantar hyperkeratosis (PPHK) and 'cobblestone' papillomatous papules of the upper lip (CPPUL), were noted respectively in 84%, 61%, 65%, 55% and 32%. Excessive eyebrows, PKP, AN, CCPUL and AES best differentiated CS from CFCS and NS. Multiple melanocytic naevi (>50) may constitute a new marker of attenuated CS associated with intragenic duplication in HRAS. Oral acitretin may be highly beneficial for therapeutic management of PPHK. No significant dermatological phenotype-genotype correlation was determined between patients with and without HRAS c.34G>A (p.G12S).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This validated phenotypic characterization of a large number of patients with CS will allow future researchers to make a positive diagnosis, and to differentiate CS from CFCS and NS.