Pulmonary cutaneous metastasis: a case report and review of common cutaneous metastases

The literature on cutaneous metastatic disease can be difficult to interpret because of inconsistent study design and analysis among authors. Furthermore, one should be careful when reviewing the statistics in the literature, as reported patient populations tend to vary and are not representative of the whole population. However, certain trends are notable and should be reported. Diagnosis of cutaneous metastatic disease carries a grave prognosis. We describe a patient with pulmonary cutaneous metastasis and provide a review of the literature on nonmelanomatous solid tumor malignancies that most commonly have cutaneous metastases. The review will focus on epidemiology, clinical presentation, histology and immunohistochemical staining, and prognosis and management. The most common cutaneous metastasizing carcinomas--breast, lung, and colorectal cancer--also are discussed.