Clinicopathological Study of 132 Cases of Metastatic Skin Tumor; A Single Center Study

Abstract

We conducted a clinicopathological analysis of 132 cases of skin metastases of visceral malignancy (69 men, 63 women) in our hospital. Origins of the malignancies were in the breast (23.4%), lung (12.8%), and colon (10.6%). The chest was the most frequent (31.2%) region, followed by the neck (21.1%) and abdomen (16.4%). Of the 7 cases of skin metastases of unknown origin, 6 were found in the head and neck regions and 6 out of the 7 cases originated in the lung. The clinical appearance of the skin metastasis was most commonly a nodule/tumor (51.8%), but ulcer/erosion was also seen in 12.1% of the cases. Pathologically, adenocarcinomas were most frequent (66.7%), followed by squamous cell carcinomas (22.0%). Undifferentiated carcinomas were found in 8 cases (6.1%). The mean duration between the detection of original cancer and skin metastasis was 29.8 months. The mean survival time after detection of skin metastasis was 14.6 months. In breast carcinoma cases, the mean survival time after skin metastasis was 29.9 months, longer than the mean survival times for other malignancies. Cases with metastases other than skin metastasis had shorter survival times (8.5 months) than did cases with metastasis limited to the skin (23.7 months). It is important for dermatologists to diagnose metastatic skin tumors correctly and to understand the prognosis for each patient.