Cutaneous Metastases of Internal Cancers: A Retrospective Study about 12 Cases

Abstract

The skin is an uncommon site of metastasis of the internal cancers. The majority of cutaneous metastases are diagnosed after the primary cancer; but they can be the telltale sign of an unknown malignancy. They represent a sign of poor prognosis with a survival rate not exceeding a few months. We report the results of a retrospective study conducted in department of medical oncology at Hassan II University Hospital, including 12 patients with cutaneous metastases. The aim of this work is to show the rarity of skin as metastatic site, to analyze the clinical aspects of cutaneous metastasis, the most criminalized primary cancers and the prognosis value of this metastatic localization.

Skin metastases: three-year study of 50 cases in a university center

“…Most of the tumors examined in our study had a cutaneous origin, namely melanoma metastasis, a finding similar with other studies conducted so far 1 . Also, after melanoma, the most frequent types of metastases found in our study were of the breast and ovary carcinomas for females, and digestive and lung carcinomas in men, data which correlate with other studies 1,14,15 . In our study, the preferred areas for melanoma metastases were on arm, legs, but also on the thorax and abdominal wall, as various studies showed so far 16 .…”

“…We also found only one case of pancreatic skin dissemination, as the incidence is known to be very low 13 . Moreover, the site of metastasis was abdominal, a frequently cited area for this malignancy 15 .…”

Cutaneous metastasis from visceral organs: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan aiding in localizing primary site

“…[6] The majority of cutaneous metastasis is diagnosed only after primary cancer; it is rarely the tell-tale sign of an unknown malignancy. [7] In same rare cases, cutaneous metastasis can occur even before the symptom of the primary site,[8] as seen in our patients. Cutaneous metastasis can be seen in both variants squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, although the frequency is relatively more with squamous cell carcinoma in case of carcinoma esophagus.…”

Métastase pariétale d’un adénocarcinome bronchique

“…Les métastases cutanées n'étant pas toujours douloureuses lors de leur apparition, il ne sera pas nécessaire de les traiter. Des métastases cutanées extensives et en rapide croissance peuvent par contre provoquer des douleurs importantes, un traitement palliatif de confort pourra alors être proposé [6]. Dans le cas présenté, notre patient se plaignait des douleurs atroces au niveau de la fosse iliaque droite avec augmentation manifeste de sa taille et impotence fonctionnelle; ce qui a conduit à réaliser une intervention chirurgicale pour ablation de cette masse.…”