Metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma presenting as an enlarging plaque on the scalp

We present a case report of metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma in which the cutaneous metastases were the first sign of disease recurrence. A 73-year-old man presented with painless red plaques on his scalp and forehead. He was diagnosed with gastric carcinoma with metastases to perigastric lymph nodes 3 1/2 years earlier. Histopathology results revealed signet-ring cells consistent with gastric adenocarcinoma. The patient failed to respond to treatment with intralesional interleukin 2, previously reported to be effective, and expired 7 months later.