Cutaneous metastases from primary internal malignancies represent 0.7-9% of
patients with cancer. We report a 65-year-old female patient referred for
evaluation of normochromic papules on the trunk and upper limbs that had been
present for three months. A skin biopsy revealed diffuse cutaneous infiltration
by small round cell tumors. Immunohistochemistry was positive for AE1/AE3, CK7,
estrogen receptor and mammaglobin. The final diagnosis was cutaneous metastasis
of occult breast cancer, since the solid primary tumor was not identified. The
location of the primary tumor can not be determined in 5-10% of cases. In these
cases, 27% are identified before the patient’s death, 57% at autopsy, and the
remaining 16% can not be located.
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