Clinicopathological Study of Cutaneous Involvement from Breast Cancer / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous involvement from breast cancer is rarely seen in dermatologic clinics although the breast is the most common source of cutaneous metastasis in women. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to study the clinical and histopathological characteristics of cutaneous involvement from breast cancer in our hospital. METHODS: A clinical and histopathological observation was made analyzing 42 cases of cutaneous involvement from breast cancer during the last 13 years from 1990 to 2002 in Asan Medical Center. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The mean age at diagnosis of breast cancer was 45.8 years. The most common histologic type was infiltrating ductal carcinoma(39 cases), followed by infiltrating lobular carcinoma(1 case) and malignant cystosarcoma phyllodes(1 case). The patterns of cutaneous manifestations were nodular(22 cases), lymphadenopathic(10 cases), inflammatory(5 cases), indurated(3 cases), and zosteriform(2 cases). The sites of locoregional recurrence(LRR) were as follows the chest wall(28 cases), the ipsilateral supraclavicular node(8 cases), the axillary node(2 cases). The sites of distant skin metastasis were as follows the contralateral chest wall(6 cases), the scalp(5 cases), the arm(3 cases), the abdomen(1 case), the finger(1 case). LRR or distant skin metastasis appeared within the first decade after treatment in all patients.