Long-term survival with skin metastases from carcinoma of prostate

Skin metastases from carcinoma of the prostate are uncommon and generally have been considered the portent of a grave prognosis. Originally, the metastatic route of this malignancy was popularly thought to be hematogenous; a lymphatic route is described in this article. We present the case of a sixty-year-old man who lived for five years after an initial diagnosis of prostatic carcinoma and for three-and-one half years after the appearance of skin metastases. We contend that skin metastases per se are not indicative of a poor prognosis, and that, as with metastases to other organs, the prognosis should be based on the histologic potential of the neoplasm as well as organ involvement elsewhere.