Secondary syphilis presenting as cutaneous nodules in a patient previously treated for laryngeal carcinoma

A person who had previously been treated for laryngeal carcinoma presented with the new onset of asymptomatic nodular skin lesions. The preliminary differential diagnosis included cutaneous metastasis. Examination of a biopsy specimen of the lesions and results of subsequent laboratory investigation ruled out the possibility of recurrent metastatic disease and established a diagnosis of secondary syphilis. The differential diagnosis of nodular lesions that resemble a lymphoid neoplasm or a cutaneous metastasis in a patient treated for cancer should also include secondary syphilis.