Disease directory
Grover’s Disease
Published: September 18, 2026Updated: September 18, 2026
Important: Informational content intended for healthcare professionals. It does not replace clinical evaluation or establish a doctor-patient relationship.
Overview
- Names
- Grover’s Disease
- Transient acantholytic dermatosis (TAD)
- Persistent acantholytic dermatosis (for chronic forms)
- In some texts: “acantholytic eruption of the trunk”, “Grover’s acantholytic dermatosis” Grover 1970 , Parsons 1996 .
- History
- First described by RW Grover in 1970 as a pruritic papulovesicular eruption with focal acantholysis and a self-limiting course Grover 1970 .
- Subsequently, the concept was expanded to include persistent, generalized forms and clinical and histological variants (Parsons 1996 , Bellinato 2020 ).
- Epidemiology
- Age: typically middle-aged adults and the elderly (mean ~48–60 years; range 11–92) Davis 1999 , Bellinato 2020 .
- Sex: clear male predominance; male:female ratio ~4:1 Davis 1999 , Bellinato 2020 .
- Phototype: more frequent in people with fair skin with chronic photodamage, although described in all phototypes Parsons 1996 , Streit 2000 summarized in Bellinato 2020 .
- Common contextual factors: hospitalization, prolonged bed rest, hyperthermia, excessive sweating, warm climate, marked xerosis Davis 1999 , Parsons 1996 .
- Association with cancer: in the Mayo Clinic series, 25% had concomitant non-dermatological neoplasia, without demonstrating a true paraneoplastic syndrome Davis 1999 ; recent series in oncological patients (chemo, immunotherapy, targeted therapies) reinforce DAT as a relatively rare but recognized cutaneous toxicity Paolino 2025 , Simpson 2024 , Kaunitz 2017 .
- Codes
- ICD-10: L11.1 – Transient acantholytic dermatosis (Grover’s disease).
- ICD-11: ED5Y – Transient acantholytic dermatosis.
- Diagnostic checklist (quick)
- Essential clinic
- Age and sex (typically male >50 years).
- Very pruritic erythematous-crusted papules/papulovesicles.
- Predominance in trunk ± proximal limbs.
- Recent history of heat, sweating, bed rest, hospitalization, or new chemo/target/ICI.
- Absence of relevant systemic symptoms.
- Exploration/Tests
- Punch biopsy 4–5 mm of recent papule/papulovesicle on trunk.
- Histology: focal acantholysis in upper epidermis with or without dyskeratosis; possible mixture of Darier/Hailey-Hailey/pemphigus patterns Davis 1999 .
- IFD on lesional skin if there is doubt with pemphigus/pemphigoid (expected negative in DAT).
- Viral PCR if the clinical presentation is suggestive of herpes/chickenpox.
- For systemic treatment
- Baseline analysis: blood count, liver profile, lipid profile, creatinine.
- Pregnancy test in women of childbearing age before retinoids.
- Essential clinic
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