Clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes of non-melanoma cutaneous metastases: a single-center study

A retrospective study at a tertiary center in Türkiye found that true non-melanoma cutaneous metastases were frequently associated with advanced internal malignancy and a median survival of four months after diagnosis. Among 57 patients evaluated between January 2008 and October 2025, 48 were classified as having true cutaneous metastases and nine as having direct local invasion by a nearby tumor. Of the 48 patients with true metastases, 41 died during follow-up, and median post-cutaneous-metastasis survival was 4.0 months, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.0–8.0 months. The findings describe prognosis in this hospital cohort and show why cutaneous metastases were analyzed separately from tumors extending directly into adjacent skin.

Cutaneous metastases are uncommon manifestations of internal malignancy. The researchers noted that they usually indicate advanced disease but may be the first sign of cancer. Cases were identified from the center’s pathology database, while clinical data came from electronic records, making the investigation a single-center retrospective observational study rather than a treatment trial. The mean age at diagnosis of cutaneous metastasis was 62.3 years, and 54.2% of patients were male. Staging information was available for 37 patients in the true-metastasis cohort; among them, 27, or 73.0%, had stage IV disease. Cutaneous metastasis was the first manifestation of malignancy in 22.9% of the true-metastasis group.

Breast and lung cancers each accounted for 26.1% of true cutaneous metastases among patients with an identified primary malignancy, followed by gastrointestinal primaries at 19.6%. Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent primary-tumor histological category, representing 37.5% of cases. Although parotid and renal malignancies had the highest numerical proportions within the institution, these were institutional proportions rather than population-wide incidence estimates. Microscopic analysis found infiltrative growth in 80.9% of true metastases and lymphovascular invasion in 53.2%. Clinically, solitary lesions predominated at 65.9%, and nodules were the most common lesion form at 57.4%. The chest and head or neck were each involved in 34% of cases, while 21.3% of patients had multiregional involvement.

Survival was estimated with the Kaplan–Meier method, and groups were compared with the log-rank test. Exploratory analysis indicated longer survival among patients with nodular lesions, but the investigators said that residual confounding could account for the association. No significant survival differences were observed by sex, ulceration, or whether cutaneous metastasis was the first manifestation of cancer. The nine direct-invasion cases had numerically longer survival than patients with true metastases, but this difference was not statistically significant, with p = 0.078. Patients with direct invasion underwent surgery more frequently than those with true metastases, with p = 0.009.

The results are limited by the retrospective design, the experience of one institution, incomplete staging information for some patients, and the small number of direct-invasion cases. As an observational analysis, the study did not establish causal effects or determine how individual patients should be treated. Within the study population, however, true non-melanoma cutaneous metastases were commonly linked to stage IV disease, appeared as solitary or nodular lesions across several anatomic regions, and were associated with survival measured in months after diagnosis. The comparison also highlighted a measurable distinction in surgical management between true metastases and direct local invasion.

Subject of Research: Clinicopathologic features and survival of non-melanoma cutaneous metastases in a Turkish hospital cohort.

Article Title: Clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes of non-melanoma cutaneous metastases: a single-center study

Article References: Gazal, E., Arici, C., Türsen, Ü., & Yuyucu Karabulut, Y. (2026). Clinicopathologic features and clinical outcomes of non-melanoma cutaneous metastases: a single-center study. Archives of Dermatological Research, 318(1), 535. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-026-05012-9

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DOI: 10.1007/s00403-026-05012-9

Keywords: cutaneous metastases, non-melanoma skin lesions, internal malignancy, cancer survival, clinicopathology, stage IV cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, retrospective cohort, direct skin invasion, Clinicopathologic, features