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Cutaneous metastases (spread to skin): What treatment works?

Posted by olivia7850 @olivia7850, Sep 7, 2025

Cutaneous metastases ("CM") s a symptom of any metastatic cancer. In breast cancer, it usually appears on the chest near the area of the initial cancer.
CM--on me--consists of about 10 small (1-2 cm) painless nodules just under the skin on my chest/waist below my mastectomy scar. CM appears in about 18-30% (depending on which study you read) of metastatic breast cancer victims.
I have metastatic breast cancer (invasive lobular carcinoma, triple negative) to the contralateral breast, lymphatic system, lungs and retroperitoneum.
There are a number of medical journal articles about CM but no generally recognized path for treatment.
Has anyone dealt with CM? What treatment worked for you?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Breast Cancer Support Group.

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Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | 4 days ago
In reply to @mjj1968 "Hello all, I read some posts about others who have experienced a TNBC recurrence to the..." + (show)
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Hello all, I read some posts about others who have experienced a TNBC recurrence to the skin. Mine recurred about 1 month after my mastectomy. I’m getting radiation but it’s spreading towards my back now and is out of my radiation range. Getting a 2nd opinion Friday but wanted to know if anyone tried anything that works? I, too, was looking into electrochemotherapy but apparently only in Europe. Any advice appreciated.

MJJ

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@mjj1968 , to help you connect with other members, I moved your question to this existing discussion:
- Cutaneous metastasis, spread to skin. What treatment works? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cutaneous-metastases-what-treatment-works/

How did the second opinion appointment go? What are next steps for you?

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olivia7850 | @olivia7850 | 3 days ago
In reply to @mjj1968 "Hello all, I read some posts about others who have experienced a TNBC recurrence to the..." + (show)
Profile picture for mjj1968 @mjj1968

Hello all, I read some posts about others who have experienced a TNBC recurrence to the skin. Mine recurred about 1 month after my mastectomy. I’m getting radiation but it’s spreading towards my back now and is out of my radiation range. Getting a 2nd opinion Friday but wanted to know if anyone tried anything that works? I, too, was looking into electrochemotherapy but apparently only in Europe. Any advice appreciated.

MJJ

Jump to this post

@mjj1968
Hello mjj1968: You probably found the same info that I did--electrochemotherapy in the US seems to be offered only via clinical trials at major cancer centers such as UCSF, City of Hope, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mayo, etc. That's great that those locations are available, but not helpful to those of us who do not live near those clinical trials.

That's unfortunate as so many of us could benefit if we had a location closer to us. Too bad as you noted, it is readily available in Europe. That's a bit far for most of us. It does appear to be a very promising treatment.

I now have about 30 CMs on my chest and upper abdomen. None are yet ulcerated, but when they do, my oncologist has suggested radiation as the best palliative treatment.

How did your follow-up appointment on Friday go? Wishing you the very best.

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