Cutaneous lesions of metastatic visceral malignancy mimicking pyogenic granuloma

Cutaneous metastases may be the first sign of a previously undiagnosed visceral malignancy or the initial presentation of a recurrent neoplasm. Rarely, skin metastases can resemble a pyogenic granuloma. Three oncology patients who developed new pyogenic granuloma-like cutaneous lesions are described. Histopathologic examination showed metastatic visceral malignancy in the skin. The characteristics of the previously reported cancer patients with metastatic tumor to the skin that mimicked a pyogenic granuloma are reviewed. A biopsy of a skin lesion that clinically appears to represent a pyogenic granuloma should be performed for microscopic examination in patients with a previous visceral malignancy or in cancer-free individuals whose lesions do not resolve after conservative treatment.