Carcinoma erysipeloides, a case-report and review of the sixty-nine cases in the literature

Abstract

Background

Carcinoma erysipeloides (CE) is a rare form of cutaneous metastasis appearing similar to erysipelas or cellulitis. Due to its rarity, little is known about CE.

Methods

We here initially reported a case of CE secondary to rectal carcinoma and then reviewed the literature and analyzed the basic characteristics of the cases reported previously.

Results

Sixty-nine patients(including our case) with CE were identified. The mean age of diagnosis with CE was 60 ± 15 yr(min:25 yr, max:91 yr), and 69.6 % of the patients were female. Breast cancer, skin cancer, and gastroesophageal cancer were the three most commonly seen malignancies presented with CE(52.2 %, 11.6 %, and 10.1 %, respectively). Adenocarcinoma(81.2 %) was the primary histological subtype of the cases. While CE was the first presentation of the disease in 20.3 % of patients, it was associated with recurrence or disease progression in 69.7 %. The median time from the first presentation of the disease to the diagnosis of CE was two years. More than half of the patients(55.1 %) have received local dermatological treatment with another differential diagnosis before diagnosis of CE. Only 21.7 % of the patients responded to the treatment, and median survival after diagnosis of CE was 4 months(min:0 mo, max:24 mo).

Conclusions

CE has a poor prognosis and is most common in individuals with breast cancer and adenocarcinoma. Patients generally receive local dermatological treatments with different diagnoses. CE should be considered in the differential diagnosis, especially in the presence of erysipelas/cellulitis-like lesions in patients with a history of malignancy or who do not respond to local treatments.