Cutaneous metastasis of prostate carcinoma treated with radiotherapy: a case presentation

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer is a commonly diagnosed and treated malignancy, although it rarely presents with cutaneous metastases. In this case presentation, we describe the diagnosis and treatment with radiotherapy of a patient who presented with cutaneous metastases on his chest wall secondary to prostate cancer. CASE PRESENTATION: In 2006, a 73-year-old Caucasian gentleman with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer treated with mitoxantrone and prednisolone presented with cutaneous nodules on his chest wall. A punch biopsy diagnosed cutaneous metastases, with histological confirmation with positive staining for cytokeratin, PSA (prostate specific antigen) and PAP (prostatic acid phosphatise). Systemic treatment was ceased due to progressive disease; radiotherapy was used to treat these nodules with a durable clinical response. The patient died five months after initial diagnosis of cutaneous metastases. CONCLUSIONS: In this report, a rare metastatic manifestation of a common malignancy is presented. Whilst dermal metastases carries a poor prognosis from reported literature, this is the first report of radiotherapy providing a durable clinical response with relief from bleeding and pain.