Skin metastases in the clinical and dermoscopic aspects

According to the literature, skin metastases affect 0.7%–10.4% of patients with malignant neoplasms of internal organs and may be 1 presentation of systemic spread of the cancer. Skin metastases may be the first sign of relapse after treatment and about 30% of cases of skin metastases are diagnosed before the diagnosis of internal organ cancer. Cutaneous metastases most often come from breast cancer and melanoma. They can present synchronous or metachronous. Adequate vigilance, combined with knowledge of the clinical picture and epidemiology, can contribute to accurate diagnosis and treatment. Clinically, skin metastases occur in the form of atypical solitary, painless nodules, or tumors. Lumps or infiltrating foci do not show clinical features that help in making a diagnosis. Skin changes are more accessible during physical examination, and it is easier to do a biopsy and provide histological assessment. Dermoscopy, a useful initial tool for the assessment of skin metastases, can lead to a rapid accurate diagnosis and treatment. Ultimately, the diagnosis of a metastatic malignancy is confirmed by histopathological examination.