Skin metastases in ovarian malignancy: A case report with literature review

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, mostly diagnosed in the advanced stage with multiple sites of metastases. Routes of spread are direct through exfoliation, lymphatic channels, and less commonly hematogenous spread. Skin metastasis in ovarian malignancy is a rare occurence, its incidence range from 1.9% to 5.1% and the most common sites are the abdominal wall and chest wall. The incidence of metastasis to breast and/or axillary lymph nodes is very rare, ranging from 0.03% to 0.6%. We report the case of a 60-year-old female with stage IV B undifferentiated ovarian carcinoma with multiple cutaneous metastases involving the skin over the left breast, scalp, and mediastinal lymph nodes, which are rare sites of metastases. The incidence of cutaneous metastasis in ovarian cancer is 1.9%–5.1% and the overall survival after diagnosis ranges from 2 to 65 months.

Keywords

• cancer antigen 125
• cutaneous metastases
• gynecologic malignancy
• ovarian cancer
• scalp nodule