Abstract
Case 1 was a 43-year-old woman with a history of gastric cancer, who had been undergoing chemotherapy since February 2007. She had noticed a mass in the umbilical region in September 2008, which tended to enlarge, and consulted our department for the evaluation of the lesion in January 2009. On the initial examination, papules measuring 2 to 5mm as well as nodules were present in and around the umbilicus area. Skin biopsy yielded a diagnosis of umbilical metastasis of gastric cancer. Case 2 was a 77-year-old woman who noticed nodules in the umbilical region several weeks before the visit to our department. Physical examination showed a little-finger-tip-sized (it is better to indicate size as mm or cm) erosive nodules with exudates in the umbilical region. General examination demonstrated the existence of pancreatic cancer and multiple liver metastases. Clinical and histopathological findings led to diagnoses of Sister Mary Joseph nodule in both cases. Umbilical metastasis from visceral malignant tumors is known as Sister Mary Joseph nodule. To our knowledge, 191 cases of umbilical metastasis from visceral malignancy have been reported in Japan. To date, the primary tumor was located most frequently in the stomach (61 cases), followed by the pancreas (40 cases) and the ovary (30 cases).Skin Research, 10: 224-227, 2011
