Cutaneous mastocytosis in human immunodeficiency virus: an unfortunate coincidence?

We report the case of a young man who developed cutaneous mastocytosis on the trunk and limbs after an episode of severe sunburn. He was diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) shortly afterwards. We discuss this interesting and previously unreported temporal relationship between the development of mastocytosis and recent HIV infection, speculating on the potential pathogenetic mechanisms of association.