Plummer–Vinson syndrome

Common card · No. 489625

Plummer–Vinson syndrome (also known as Paterson–Kelly syndrome or Paterson–Brown-Kelly syndrome in the UK) is a rare disease characterized by dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), iron-deficiency anemia, atrophic glossitis (inflammation of the tongue), angular cheilitis or cheilosis (crackings at the corners of the mouth, respectively associated or not with inflammation), and upper esophageal webs (thin membranes in the esophagus that can cause obstruction). Treatment with iron supplementation and mechanical widening of the esophagus generally leads to positive outcomes. While exact epidemiological data are lacking, the syndrome has become scarce due to the improved nutritional status of the at-risk population. The syndrome generally occurs in perimenopausal women. Identification and follow-up of affected individuals are important due to the increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and pharynx.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Lesion, CC BY-SA 3.0