Chromonychia is an

abnormality Abnormality refers to any deviation from the normal, the noun form of the adjective ''abnormal''. Abnormality may refer to: __NOTOC__ Medicine and physiology *Chromosome abnormality, atypical number of chromosomes or a structural abnormality in ...

in color of the substance or surface of the

nail plate A nail is a claw-like plate found at the tip of the fingers and toes on most primates. Nails correspond to the claws found in other animals. Fingernails and toenails are made of a tough protective protein called alpha-keratin, which is a polymer. ...

or subungual tissues.Freedberg, et al. (2003). ''Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine''. (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. . Chromonychia can be induced by antineoplastic drugs with few distinct forms, the most frequently seen is

melanonychia Melanonychia is a black or brown pigmentation of the normal nail plate, and may be present as a normal finding on many digits in Afro-Caribbeans, as a result of trauma, systemic disease, or medications, or as a postinflammatory event from such local ...

. Although a few

cytostatics Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

may cause these changes, the drugs most commonly involved are

adriamycin Doxorubicin, sold under the brand name Adriamycin among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. This includes breast cancer, bladder cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, lymphoma, and acute lymphocytic leukemia. It is often used toget ...

cyclophosphamide Cyclophosphamide (CP), also known as cytophosphane among other names, is a medication used as chemotherapy and to suppress the immune system. As chemotherapy it is used to treat lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, ovarian cancer, breast cancer ...

and

vincristine Vincristine, also known as leurocristine and marketed under the brand name Oncovin among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin's ...

, or in polychemotherapy Also chromonychia is associated with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. A significant association (p<0.05) was found between chromonychia and CD4 counts of below 200 per cubic millimeter.

References

Dermatologic terminology {{Dermatology-stub