[Skin metastases in thyroid carcinoma (author's transl)]

Thyroid carcinomas rarely metastasize to the skin. In three patients skin metastases following follicular, papillo-follicular and medullary carcinomas were seen. In two cases the metastatic spread was haematogenous, in a third patient with a retrosternal thyroid carcinoma there was massive spread through the anterior thoracic wall. The diagnosis was made on histological invesitgation of the skin lesions and after total body scintigraphy with 131I. In one seemingly-healthy patient the histological investigation of skin nodule first led to the diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma. If skin metastases occur several years after the discovery of a visceral tumour the possibility of a second primary tumour should be considered. The results of combined treatment with with surgery, radio-therapy, (radioiodine and tele-cobalt) and hormone treatment show that skin metastases in thyroid carcinoma do not necessarily have a hopeless prognosis.