If your patient’s palms bear an unflattering resemblance to boiled stomach lining, they are more than likely a serious sign of internal malignancy.

In a case published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a 73-year-old woman presented to dermatologists with “sharp demarcation of the folds in the lines of her hands in addition to a velvety appearance of palmar surfaces and ridging of the skin”.

She reported a smoking history of 30 pack-years, a year-long cough and 5kg weight loss over the past four months.

“This condition, known as tripe palms, is closely associated with cancer, particularly lung and gastric cancer,” the case reports authors wrote.