Carcinoma en cuirasse associated to zosteriform metastasis from breast adenocarcinoma

Abstract

We report an original case of carcinoma en cuirasse associated with zosteriform metastasis. A 40-year-old woman presented to our department with painful erythematous lesions. She had a history of invasive ductal carcinoma of the left breast. Numerous erythematous, papules and whitish vesicles were present over the right side of the chest in a dermatomal distribution with indurated coalescent plaques. Biopsy revealed metastatic carcinoma of breast origin. Breast mammography showed suspicious right nodule. Controlateral breast carcinoma with CM was diagnosed. CM show a wide range of clinical manifestations. Carcinoma en cuirasse, is a very rare form of metastatic cutaneous breast cancer. It is characterized by diffuse sclerodermatous induration of the skin. Zosteriform metastasis is also rarely seen. It may be distributed along dermatomeres in a variety of clinical patterns, including nodular, papulovesicular, or vesiculobullous. In our case, the zosteriform metastasis occurred in the contralateral site. It announced the developing of contralateral breast cancer.