BACKGROUND: Cutaneous metastases are perceived as a sign of advanced disease and are regarded as a grave prognostic indicator. In addition, few reports have focused on the cutaneous metastasis profiles of Asian patients. OBJECTIVES: We seek to analyse the clinical and prognostic characteristics of cutaneous tumour metastases in a Taiwanese medical centre. METHODS: Clinical records from Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital over the last 20 years (1986-2006) were reviewed, and cases of biopsy-proven cutaneous metastases from internal malignancies identified. Survival rates were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for univariate analysis to determine the risk of mortality among different groups. RESULTS: A total of 141 cases of cutaneous metastases were identified. The clinical profiles were similar to those from western countries, although the frequencies of primary tumours were different. The duration of survival was usually short following diagnosis of cutaneous metastases, but prognosis is significantly better in breast cancer patients with metastases. Moreover, the survival was even longer for breast cancer patients when the metastasis was confined to the skin. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of skin metastases depends largely on the characteristics of tumour cells, which is similar among different ethnic groups. In terms of prognosis, a subset of breast cancer patients has superior prognosis, even among breast cancer patients with stage IV disease. Physicians should consider this finding in clinical situations to avoid possible misinformation about the prognosis of the disease.
BACKGROUND:Cutaneous metastases are perceived as a sign of advanced disease and are regarded as a grave prognostic indicator. In addition, few reports have focused on the cutaneous metastasis profiles of Asian patients. OBJECTIVES: We seek to analyse the clinical and prognostic characteristics of cutaneous tumour metastases in a Taiwanese medical centre. METHODS: Clinical records from Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital over the last 20 years (1986-2006) were reviewed, and cases of biopsy-proven cutaneous metastases from internal malignancies identified. Survival rates were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for univariate analysis to determine the risk of mortality among different groups. RESULTS: A total of 141 cases of cutaneous metastases were identified. The clinical profiles were similar to those from western countries, although the frequencies of primary tumours were different. The duration of survival was usually short following diagnosis of cutaneous metastases, but prognosis is significantly better in breast cancerpatients with metastases. Moreover, the survival was even longer for breast cancerpatients when the metastasis was confined to the skin. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of skin metastases depends largely on the characteristics of tumour cells, which is similar among different ethnic groups. In terms of prognosis, a subset of breast cancerpatients has superior prognosis, even among breast cancerpatients with stage IV disease. Physicians should consider this finding in clinical situations to avoid possible misinformation about the prognosis of the disease.
Authors: Verônica Riquet de Siqueira; Aline Salmito Frota; Israel Leitão Maia; Hercília Maria Carvalho Queiroz; Jose Telmo Valença Júnior; José Wilson Accioly Filho Journal: An Bras Dermatol Date: 2014 Nov-Dec Impact factor: 1.896
Authors: Shin Young Hyun; Ji Hoon Lee; Hye Sun Shin; Su Whan Lee; Young Nyun Park; Jun Yong Park Journal: Gut Liver Date: 2011-03-16 Impact factor: 4.519