Distant skin metastases as primary presentation of gastric cancer

Distant gastric metastasis to the skin is uncommonly a presenting symptom, although nonspecific paraneoplastic syndromes with dermatologic manifestation including diffuse seborrheic keratoses (Leser-Trelat sign), tripe palms, and acanthosis nigricans have been described in the literature. We report here the case of a 49-year-old woman with gastric adenocarcinoma who presented with cutaneous metastasis as an initial symptom. In our case, metastatic skin lesions responded significantly to EOX chemotherapy (epirubicin+oxaliplatin+capecitabine) despite progression of systemic disease. In similar presentations, a high index of clinical suspicion and skin biopsy are important.