Clinical analysis of patients with skin metastasis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cancers that metastasize to the skin are rare, especially cervical squamous cell carcinoma to the skin. Here, we have reported clinical analysis of patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma metastasize to skin, to obtain a general understanding of this malignancy for clinicians. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with skin metastasis from cervical squamous cell carcinoma was conducted, focusing on clinical manifestations, histopathology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. RESULTS: The average age of onset for the six patients with skin metastasis from cervical squamous cell carcinoma was 55.17±17.08 years, with four cases presenting as solitary lesions and two cases as multiple lesions. Treatment strategies included local excision for isolated lesions, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or targeted therapy based on the extent of skin involvement, and immunotherapy was proved to have promising results in our cases. Among the six patients, three have passed away with a diagnosis-to-death time of approximately 5-6 months, while three patients are alive, with survival times ranging from 30 to 72 months. CONCLUSIONS: Skin metastasis from cervical squamous cell carcinoma is rare and often accompanies recurrent metastases to other visceral sites, necessitating early and accurate diagnosis. For isolated metastatic lesions, early detection followed by wide excision surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy can yield favorable outcomes. However, in cases of multiple skin metastases or concurrent metastases to multiple organs, treatment is challenging with a poor prognosis. Nevertheless, with advancements in medicine, combination chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy can effectively prolong survival, offering new hope for patients with skin metastasis from cervical cancer.