Teresa Alonso-de León, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Ciudad de México, México
Luis E. Cano-Aguilar, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Ciudad de México, México
Heidi H. Hernández-Ramírez, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Ciudad de México, México
Ma. Elisa Vega-Memije, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Ciudad de México, México
Background and objective: Cutaneous metastasis occurs in 0.7-9% of patients with solid tumors, and it could be the first manifestation of cancer in some patients. The most frequent location is close to the primary tumor. The objective of this study is to register the patients with clinicopathological diagnosis of cutaneous metastases diagnosed in a public hospital from 1985 to 2020. Material and methods: An observational, descriptive, retrolective and cross-sectional study was carried out using the electronic database of the dermatopathology department of a public hospital, with files from 1985 to 2020. Results: 65 cutaneous metastases were found in patients with solid tumors. Women were more affected, with a mean age of 61 years. The most common affected topography was the trunk, and the most common morphology were tumors. The most commonly associated histopathological diagnosis was adenocarcinoma, and the most frequent histological findings were the nodular pattern and the presence of atypical cells and inflammatory infiltrates. In 63.1% of the patients, the presence of cutaneous metastases was the first clinical sign of an underlying neoplasm. Conclusions: Up to 63.1% of the patients studied did not have a previous diagnosis of any solid organ neoplasm, so cutaneous metastasis represented the first clinical finding of an unknown malignancy. It is extremely important to publish epidemiological and clinicopathological studies of this disease to alert dermatologists to intentionally search for underlying neoplasms in selected cases.
Keywords: Metastases. Cutaneous tumor. Primary tumor. Unknown primary tumor.