Carcinoma en cuirasse : a rare presentation of breast cancer

Carcinoma en cuirasse is a form of cutaneous metastasis. Although this condition is rare, it is most commonly associated with breast carcinoma with local recurrence after mastectomy. Cutaneous metastasis presents most commonly a few months or years after the primary has been diagnosed. Less frequently a metastasis is diagnosed at the same time as the primary tumor or presents as the first manifestation of the disease. We report a case of carcinoma en cuirasse in a 50-year-old female who presented with elevated, finely nodular, indurated skin lesions on left anterior chest wall, axillary region and keloid - like patch on left upper arm. On further examination a breast mass was detected. Fine needle aspiration of all the lesions was performed. Cytodiagnosis was given as infiltrating duct carcinoma of breast with metastatic carcinoma involving left anterior chest wall, axilla and left upper arm. We should not disregard keloid-like or indurated patches on skin which should be investigated thoroughly.