Xeroderma pigmentosum is a very rare autosomal recessive skin disorder characterized by photosensitivity, poikilodermic changes predominantly of the light-exposed skin with early aging of the skin and a high incidence of malignant neoplasia of the skin.
Neuroendocrinal and metabolic errors are the frequent associations but the most serious hazard is the liability towards malignant cutaneous growths very early in life which may be responsible for life termination in the first or second decades. Xeroderma pigmentosum has been associated with several forms of skin cancer, and, in some cases, may occur along with dwarfism, mental retardation, and/or delayed development.
Xeroderma pigmentosum has been reported to be unusually frequent among Arab populations.