Cutaneous Metastases From Breast Cancer: An 8-Year Review of Cases at a Tertiary Care Hospital.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Breast cancer is the most common cause of cutaneous metastases. In our review of the literature, we found no studies that have investigated the prevalence of cutaneous metastases from breast cancer in Latin America or compared survival in relation to the site of cutaneous involvement or the presence of visceral metastases. The aims of this study were to characterize the prevalence and clinical features of cutaneous metastases from breast cancer and analyze survival in relation to site of involvement and the concomitant presence of visceral metastases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study. We evaluated patients with breast cancer and histologically confirmed cutaneous metastases.

RESULTS: Data from 914 patients with breast cancer seen between 2007 and 2014 were analyzed. Thirty-one of the patients, all women, had cutaneous metastases (prevalence, 3.4%; 95% CI, 2.3%-4.7%). The most common form of metástasis was nodular, metachronous, and asymptomatic. There were discrepancies between the immunohistochemical findings for the primary tumor and the metastases in 5 of 21 women. The metastases were locorregional in 23 patients and distant in 8. No differences were observed between patients with locorregional and distant metastases for survival after diagnosis of the primary tumor (median of 4.7 vs. 4.8 years; P=.085) or the cutaneous metastases (median of 2.9 vs. 1.1 years, P=.06). Women with a simultaneous diagnosis of cutaneous and visceral metastases had the shortest survival.

CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study in Latin America to estimate the prevalence of cutaneous metastases from breast cancer and we found it to be lower than rates reported for other parts of the world.