This Very Rare Skin Condition Causes Unexplainable Rashes on Your Chest or Back (2025)

Transient acantholytic dermatosis, also known as Grover's disease, is a very rare skin condition that causes a rash, sometimes severe, on the chest or back. Researchers don't know what exactly causes Grover's disease. Some studies have identified certain triggers, including severe heat, sweating, end-stage kidney disease, and a recent organ transplant.

Grover's disease affects about 0.1% of the population and is most likely to affect older white people assigned male at birth. People assigned male at birth are three times more likely to be affected by Grover's disease than people assigned female at birth.

Grover's disease causes a rash on the chest or back that causes itching, burning, and small raised bumps on the skin that sometimes scab over. Symptoms appear quickly and often last around 6-12 months. Treatment is focused on itching relief and typically includes topical corticosteroids and antihistamines (applied to the skin).

This Very Rare Skin Condition Causes Unexplainable Rashes on Your Chest or Back (1)

Symptoms of Grover's disease appear quickly over a few weeks. Common symptoms include:

  • A skin rash (possibly severe) on the chest or back, which can sometimes extend to the arms or legs
  • Severe itching (pruritus)
  • Small blisters containing watery liquid
  • Red, pink, or brown skin lesions
  • Blisters and lesions that crust over time

The length of time symptoms last varies. Many cases of Grover's disease last 6-12 months, but many cases are longer or shorter. In some cases, symptoms resolve spontaneously without treatment.

What Causes Grover's Disease?

Researchers are not quite sure what causes Grover's disease. Some studies have described potential triggers that lead to the disease. However, the mechanism behind these triggers hasn't been defined.

Heat, Sweating, and Sun

People with Grover's disease often mention recent excessive heat exposure, excessive sweating, or spending a long time in the sun. Some researchers believe excessive sweating from a previously blocked sweat gland could play a role. Others believe the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays trigger the rash.

Other Health Conditions

Some studies suggest that other health conditions or medications cause Grover's disease. For example:

  • Many studies suggest that renal (kidney) failure can cause Grover's disease. Grover's disease can also affect people who have recently had a kidney transplant.
  • One study demonstrated a high level of comorbidity between Grover's disease and cancer, meaning they often occur at the same time. In this study, 61% of people with Grover's disease had a history of cancer.
  • Grover's disease might be a side effect of cancer medications. One review identified 13 cases of medication-related Grover's disease. All 13 cases were caused by cancer treatment.

Anecdotal Triggers

Other rare reported triggers include:

  • Bee stings
  • Exposure to liquid nitrogen
  • Being bedridden for a long time

Grover's disease most commonly affects older Caucasian men. One study assessed the demographics of 69 cases of Grover's disease and revealed that 71% of the people affected were male and 74% were Caucasian. Studies also show that the average onset for the disease is 61 years of age.

It is important to note that many of these studies have low population numbers due to the disease's rarityand might not be representative. More studies are needed to confirm the demographics and risk factors of Grover's disease.

Diagnosis

Grover's disease is diagnosed by a primary care physician (PCP) or dermatologist (a doctor who specializes in skin, hair, and nails). Your healthcare provider will begin by performing a physical exam and asking you when you first noticed symptoms.

If Grover's disease is suspected, your healthcare might take a skin biopsy—a skin sample of the rash to evaluate under a microscope. Your healthcare provider will look for acantholysis of your skin cells. Acantholysis occurs in groups of cells due to a loss of proteins that make cells stick together. Seeing acantholysis in a skin biopsy confirms Grover's disease diagnosis.

Grover's disease often resolves on its own within a year, so the main goals of treatment are managing itching symptoms and preventing future outbreaks.

There are no clinically approved treatments for Grover's disease. Because of this, many of the treatments used for Grover's disease are medications used to manage other rashes and inflammatory diseases.

Treatment for more minor Grover's disease cases includes:

  • Corticosteroids: Topical (applied to the skin) prescription-strength creams to reduce inflammation
  • Antihistamines: Oral (taken by mouth) medications to reduce the immune response
  • Vitamin D analogs: Medications that increase vitamin D in the body

Treatment options for more severe cases or cases that don't respond to the treatments above include:

  • Retinoids: Medications derived from vitamin A that increase collagen and cell turnover (removing dead cells and replacing them with new ones)
  • Accutane (isotretinoin): An oral medication derived from vitamin A that's often used to treat acne
  • Tetracycline: An oral antibiotic that might help reduce inflammation
  • Systemic corticosteroids: Medications taken orally or via injections to reduce inflammation
  • Phototherapy: Exposure to low-level UV rays
  • PUVA phototherapy: Phototherapy in combination with an oral medication called psoralen that increases the skin's sensitivity to UV light

Prevention

The most effective way to prevent Grover's disease is to avoid its possible triggers. Specifically, try to avoid extended sun or heat exposure and use sunscreen regularly.

Two conditions are comorbid with Grover's disease: cancer and renal disease.

Interestingly, data suggests that Grover's disease is comorbid not only with cancer and end-stage renal disease but also with treatments for these diseases. Because of this, researchers aren't sure if Grover's disease is caused by the conditions themselves or is a side-effect of their medications.

The comorbidity study found that 61% of people with Grover's disease had a history of cancer. It also found that 32% of those cases were non-hematologic cancers (cancers that do not begin in the blood or bone marrow). This suggests that specific types of cancers may cause Grover's disease. Another interesting finding was that 62% of individuals with Grover's disease received chemotherapy.

A Quick Review

Grover's disease is a very rare skin condition that causes a rash on the chest, back, and arms. Symptoms can last anywhere from 6-12 months and vary in length and severity from person to person.

Grover's disease most commonly affects Caucasian men in their 60s. The cause of Grover's disease is unknown. Studies and anecdotal accounts suggest that Grover's disease seems to be triggered by excessive heat and sweating or exposure to the sun's UV rays. Other possible triggers include kidney failure and a history of cancer.

To diagnose Grover's disease, your healthcare provider will perform a physical exam and evaluate a skin sample. While there are no specific treatments for Grover's disease, healthcare providers use many medications often prescribed for other types of rashes. Treatment might include topical corticosteroid creams, vitamin D analogs, antihistamines, and retinoids.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is Grover's disease an autoimmune disorder?

    Grover's disease is not an autoimmune disorder. Autoimmune disorders occur when the body mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells. Grover's disease seems to be triggered by environmental factors and specific health conditions.

  • Can medications cause Grover's disease?

    There is some documented evidence of cancer medications causing Grover's disease. One review identified 13 cases of medication-related Grover's disease. All 13 cases were caused by cancer treatment.

  • Is Grover's disease worse in the winter?

    While researchers debate this, evidence suggests that Grover's disease cases are more commonly diagnosed during the winter.

This Very Rare Skin Condition Causes Unexplainable Rashes on Your Chest or Back (2025)
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