Cutaneous and subcutaneous metastases

Last revised by Henry Knipe on 9 Sep 2022

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, Sharma R, Haouimi A, et al. Cutaneous and subcutaneous metastases. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 20 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-48216

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-48216

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/48216?iframe=true

rID:

48216

Article created:

25 Sep 2016, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

9 Sep 2022, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:

Radiopaedia Events Pty Ltd, Speaker fees (past)
Integral Diagnostics, Shareholder (ongoing)
Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (ongoing)

These were assessed during peer review and were determined to not be relevant to the changes that were made.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Revisions:

19 times, by 5 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal, Oncology

Synonyms:

Cutaneous metastasis
Cutaneous metastases
Subcutaneous metastasis
Subcutaneous metastases

Cutaneous and subcutaneous metastases are not uncommon, occurring in ~5% (range 0.7-10.4%) of internal malignancies, and representing 2% of skin cancers. The Sister Mary Joseph nodule is a well known cutaneous metastasis.

Pathology

These metastases can come from hematogenous or lymphatic spread, or may result from seeding from a surgical procedure. Underlying primary malignancies include ^1,2:

breast cancer (most common in females)
malignant melanoma (most common in males) ⁴
lung cancer
colorectal carcinoma
head and neck cancers
ovarian cancer
carcinoma of prostate ⁵
renal cell carcinoma ⁶
pancreatic adenocarcinoma ⁷
endometrial carcinoma ⁸
gastric cancer ⁹
esophageal adenocarcinoma ¹⁰
bladder carcinoma ¹¹
testicular germ cell tumor¹²
gallbladder adenocarcinoma ¹³
choriocarcinoma (rare) ¹⁴

Radiographic features

Cutaneous and subcutaneous metastases can present as multiple small, usually <2 cm, masses or as a larger infiltrative mass ¹.

Quiz questions

References

1. Juan Y, Saboo S, Tirumani S et al. Malignant Skin and Subcutaneous Neoplasms in Adults: Multimodality Imaging with CT, MRI, and 18F-FDG PET/CT. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2014;202(5):W422-38. doi:10.2214/AJR.13.11424 - Pubmed
2. Manohar K, Mittal B, Bhattacharya A, Singh G. Asymptomatic Distant Subcutaneous Metastases Detected by (18)F-FDG-PET/CT in a Patient with Breast Carcinoma. World J Nucl Med. 2012;11(1):24-5. doi:10.4103/1450-1147.98742 - Pubmed
3. Bittencourt M, Carvalho A, Nascimento B, Freitas L, Parijós A. Cutaneous Metastasis of a Breast Cancer Diagnosed 13 Years Before. An Bras Dermatol. 2015;90(3 suppl 1):134-7. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20153842 - Pubmed
4. Robert C. Bast Jr, James F. Holland. Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine 8. (2010) ISBN: 9781607950141 - Google Books
5. Katske F, Waisman J, Lupu A. Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Metastases from Carcinoma of Prostate. Urology. 1982;19(4):373-6. doi:10.1016/0090-4295(82)90191-1 - Pubmed
6. Dorairajan L, Hemal A, Aron M et al. Cutaneous Metastases in Renal Cell Carcinoma. Urol Int. 1999;63(3):164-7. doi:10.1159/000030440 - Pubmed
7. Kotsantis I, Economopoulou P, Dritsakos K et al. Extensive Cutaneous Metastases of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Clin Case Rep. 2017;5(1):51-6. doi:10.1002/ccr3.737 - Pubmed
8. El M’rabet FZ, Hottinger A, George AC, Tille JC, et al. Cutaneous Metastasis of Endometrial Carcinoma: A Case Report and Literature Review. (2012) Journal of Clinical Gynecology and Obstetrics. 1 (1): 19-23. doi:10.4021/jcgo.v1i1.10
9. Namikawa T, Munekage E, Munekage M et al. Subcutaneous Metastasis Arising from Gastric Cancer: A Case Report. Mol Clin Oncol. 2017;6(4):515-6. doi:10.3892/mco.2017.1175 - Pubmed
10. Triantafyllou S, Georgia D, Gavriella-Zoi V et al. Cutaneous Metastases from Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Int Surg. 2015;100(3):558-61. doi:10.9738/INTSURG-D-13-00257.1 - Pubmed
11. Dirican A, Küçükzeybek Y, Somalι I et al. Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Metastases from Bladder Carcinoma. Contemp Oncol (Pozn). 2012;16(5):451-2. doi:10.5114/wo.2012.31779 - Pubmed
12. Joel A, Bhatt A, Samuel A, Chacko R. Cutaneous Metastasis from Testicular Germ Cell Tumour. Indian J Urol. 2014;30(1):99-101. doi:10.4103/0970-1591.124215 - Pubmed
13. Tanriverdi O, Meydan N, Barutca S et al. Cutaneous Metastasis of Gallbladder Adenocarcinoma in a Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Ann Dermatol. 2013;25(1):99-103. doi:10.5021/ad.2013.25.1.99 - Pubmed
14. Park S, Chang J, Kim S, Bang D. Cutaneous Metastasis of Choriocarcinoma: A Case Report. J Korean Med Sci. 2005;20(4):683-6. doi:10.3346/jkms.2005.20.4.683 - Pubmed

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