Publication:

A study on the cutaneous manifestations of patients with internal malignancy attending a cancer center in Kanyakumari District

Background Cutaneous metastasis from an internal malignancy is rare and usually occurs at the later stages. Cutaneous changes may also be the presenting feature of some underlying malignancies. To determine the frequency of cutaneous manifestations in cancer patients attending the Cancer centre of Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences, Kanyakumari.

Methods This was a prospective hospital-based study. 218 patients with malignancies involving various organs, attending the Cancer Centre of Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences, Kanyakumari, were recorded for a period of 6 months from October 2020 to February 2021. Approval from the Institutional research ethical committee was obtained.

Results In our study, the most common non-specific cutaneous manifestation was generalized pruritis, observed in 17.88% of the patients, followed by acquired ichthyosis in 12.38% of the patients, and herpes zoster in 11.46% of the patients. Specific cutaneous manifestations included cutaneous metastatic infiltrates, observed in 5.04% of the patients.

Conclusions Skin metastases may herald the recurrence of a malignancy after treatment and usually indicate a poor prognosis.