Zosteriform cutaneous metastasis from a breast carcinoma

Summary Cutaneous metastases from internal malignancies or primary skin cancers are uncommon, and a zosteriform pattern is very rare. In order to elucidate the characteristics of zosteriform metastatic skin cancer we reviewed 38 cases from the medical literature and 1 case seen in our clinic. Methods: The age and sex of each patient, location of the primary tumor, pathology of primary and metastatic lesions, location of the skin cancer and presence of pain were determined for the 39 cases. Results: The most frequent site of the primary tumor was the breast (7 cases) and skin squamous all carcinoma (6 cases). The most common site of the skin metastases was the chest wall (21 cases). Conclusion: This review highlights the importance of including cutaneous metastases within the differential diagnosis of zosteriform eruptions. Skin metastases should be considered and a skin biopsy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. We think that this pattern of metastatic disease is more fre- quent than is indicated in the literature.