Metastatic Skin Tumors

METASTATIC SKIN TUMORS

The skin is an important, although not a common, site of metastatic cancer. All types of cancer may metastasize to the skin, but carcinoma of the breast is the primary source of cutaneous metastases in women. Other sources include cancer of the large intestine, ovaries, and lungs. In men, the most common primary sites are the lungs, large intestine, oral cavity, kidneys, or stom-ach. Skin metastases from melanomas are found in both genders. The clinical appearance of metastatic skin lesions is not distinc-tive, except perhaps in some cases of breast cancer in which dif-fuse, brawny hardening of the skin of the involved breast is seen. In most instances, metastatic lesions occur as multiple cutaneous or subcutaneous nodules of various sizes that may be skin colored or different shades of red.