Publication:

A case report of extensive skin metastases from squamous cell carcinoma of lower esophagus and short review of literature

Esophageal malignancy is the sixth most common cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Patients with esophageal malignancy usually present with locally advanced disease with presence of metastases at presentation. Squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant histological subtype, comprising about 70% of cases and is the most common histologic subtype in the proximal and middle thirds of the esophagus. The clinical manifestations can be attributed to the local and regional spread of the disease. Lymph nodes, lungs and liver are the main metastatic sites. Cutaneous metastases of abdominal malignancies are uncommon, with frequency ranging from 0.7 to 9%. Skin metastases from esophageal malignancy are even rarer, and affect less than 1% of cases. The overall survival rate is poor and varies from 4.3 to 4.7 months. We report the rare case of a 73-year-old patient who presented with extensive skin lesions due to metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower esophagus.