Solitary skin metastasis after lung cancer resection

A 75-year-old woman admitted for an abnormal chest X-ray shadow was found in transbronchial lung biopsy to have malignant cells. After right lower lobectomy with mediastinal lymph node dissection, pathological examination showed primary pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma (pT2N1M0, stage IIB). After discharge, we followed her up as an outpatient, with oral administration of uracil and futrafur (300 mg/day). Five months postoperatively, a subcutaneous mass detected on her back and surgically removed was found histologically to be metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of subcutaneous tissue from lung cancer. No other metastases were found. The patient has survived 3 years and 3 months since primary surgery and remained cancer-free 2 years and 11 months since resection for skin metastasis. Given that skin metastasis is detected when most patients are in an advanced stage of disease, our case was a rare one of solitary skin metastasis after resection for lung cancer.