Cutaneous Metastasis: A Study of 138 Cases Diagnosed by Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology

Background: Cutaneous metastases can occur in a wide variety of internal malignancies and may be the first sign of a clinically silent visceral cancer. Study Design: A retrospective analysis was made of 138 cases diagnosed with cutaneous and subcutaneous metastasis on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Primary tumors of the skin/subcutis were excluded. Results: Of 138 cases, the primary was known in 101 cases and unknown in 37 cases. The age of the patients ranged from 5 to 86 years, and 76 (55.1%) were male and 62 (44.9%) were female. Clinically, the most common lesion was a single nodule ( n = 77, 55.8%). The chest wall was the predominant site ( n = 53, 38.4%). In males and females, the most common primary sites were the lung ( n = 16) and breast ( n = 24), respectively. On cytology, the most common diagnosis was metastatic adenocarcinoma ( n = 41, 29.7%). Of 37 cases with an unknown primary, FNAC helped to locate the primary site in 17 (45.9%) cases, while in 20 cases it remained undiagnosed. Conclusions: FNAC is a rapid and safe technique that can be used as a first line of investigation for conReceived: August 15, 2016 Accepted after revision: November 3, 2016 Published online: December 22, 2016 Correspondence to: Dr. Reetu Kundu Department of Pathology, Government Medical College and Hospital Sector 32-A Chandigarh 160030 (India) E-Mail reetukundu @ gmail.com © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel