A case of medullary thyroid carcinoma in which the skin metastasis was concurrently present and response occurred to chemotherapy

Cancer Res Treat. 2008 Dec;40(4):202-6. doi: 10.4143/crt.2008.40.4.202. Epub 2008 Dec 31.

Abstract

Medullary thyroid carcinoma accounts for 3% of all thyroid gland malignancies. It commonly metastasizes to liver, lung, and bone. It rarely metastasizes to skin, and only a few such cases have been documented. Cutaneous metastasis suggests a poor prognosis, with a mean survival of 7.5-19 months. The most effective treatment for skin metastasis is complete surgical removal of all local and regional lesions. The response to systemic chemotherapy is typically poor. We report a case of medullary thyroid carcinoma with cutaneous metastases, which responded to chemotherapy.

Keywords: Chemotherapy; Cutaneous metastases; Medullary thyroid carcinoma.