SummaryPatients with metastatic melanoma, but also other solid tumors (e.g., lung or breast cancer), may develop cutaneous metastases in advanced stages. The goal of treatment is to alleviate symptoms such as pain, fetor, secretions, or bleeding. Current treatment modalities are based on a multimodal treatment approach. Beside surgery, treatment options such as electrochemotherapy, isolated limb perfusion, radiotherapy, and local administration of cytokines or chemotherapy agents are available. In case of concomitant visceral metastases, this local treatment approach may not affect overall survival, but the palliation of these tumor-associated symptoms very often improves the quality of life for the patient.
IntroductionAlong with primary skin tumors, which are usually still treatable at the time of diagnosis with curative surgery, palliative treatment of cutaneous metastases from solid tumors (such as carcinomas of the breast, kidney, prostate gland, lungs and other organs) seen in everyday dermatological practice require individually-tailored, multimodal treatment. About 10 % of patients with solid tumors develop cutaneous or subcutaneous metastases over the course of their disease [1].
Typical problemsSkin metastases from solid tumors behave in a similar fashion, irrespective of the tumor entity. The lesions may be distressing for the patient, due to their visibility or symptoms such as weeping, bleeding, pain, and fetor ( Figure 1) [1]. Intense fetor, in particular, can significantly impair the patient's quality of life and lead to social isolation. Given the often very distressful symptoms, even in patients with visceral metastases, the treatment of the skin metastases may take precedent.
Palliative therapy options in skin metastases
Ablative techniquesVisible skin metastases are often very distressful for the patient. Excision is the firstline therapy for solitary skin metastases [2]. Other alternatives include cryotherapy as well as laser therapy for flatter lesions. Doctors should discuss the advantages and disadvantages with the patient. One may also consider combining resection of a large lesion with topical treatment of multiple smaller metastases.
Radiotherapy
IndicationsPain related to skin metastases primarily occurs with space-occupying masses; weeping, bleeding, fetor may occur due to tumor disintegration. Palliative radiotherapy is mainly indicated to alleviate the symptoms as quickly as possible rather than to achieve a reduction in tumor size (i.e., debulking) [3]. In palliative radiotherapy, fractionation is based on an individual treatment decision, taking into account the personal needs of the patient. Long-term toxic effects should be avoided. The treatment should be brief, and thus higher individual doses (3.0-4.0-8.0 Gy), or hypofractionation, may be advisable. The length of treatment is significantly minimized, depending on the individual dose (one day, one week, two weeks). A prerequisite is adequate relative biological effectiveness which brings about rapid, lasting, and certain pain...