Abstract
We herein report a typical case of alopecia neoplastica secondary to breast cancer. Alopecia neoplastica is a rare form of alopecia resulting from metastasis of a primary tumour to the scalp and is often misdiagnosed as alopecia areata.
Introduction
A 75‐year‐old woman presented with a 5‐year history of localised hair loss on the occipital scalp. The patient had a well‐defined erythematous plaque with alopecia (Figure 1a). Twelve years earlier, she underwent mastectomy for right breast invasive ductal carcinoma and was subsequently treated with anastrozole. A histopathological analysis confirmed breast cancer metastasis (Figure 1b,c). The patient was diagnosed with alopecia neoplastica. Anastrozole was continued, and the lesions remained unchanged during the 5‐year follow‐up period. Breast cancer is a leading cause of alopecia neoplastica. 1 Careful dermatological examinations are required for alopecia in patients with a history of the disease. 1 , 2
FIGURE 1.
(a) The clinical findings of the patient at the initial presentation. A physical examination revealed a well‐defined, nonpruritic erythematous plaque with alopecia affected the occipital area. (b, c) A histopathological examination of an erythematous plaque revealed tumour cells distributed between dense collagen stroma in an Indian file pattern (haematoxylin‐eosin staining).
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Shohei Kitayama: Conceptualization (lead); investigation (lead); writing – original draft (lead); writing – review & editing (equal). Koji Katsuumi: Investigation (supporting). Sumiko Takatsuka: Conceptualization (supporting); investigation (equal). Chizuko Kanbayashi: Investigation (lead). Tadamichi Shimizu: Supervision (lead). Tatsuya Takenouchi: Conceptualization (lead); supervision (lead); writing – review & editing (lead).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
None to declare.
ETHICS STATEMENT
Not applicable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not‐for‐profit sectors.
Kitayama S, Katsuumi K, Takatsuka S, Kanbayashi C, Shimizu T, Takenouchi T. Alopecia neoplastica: a manifestation of metastatic breast cancer. Skin Health Dis. 2023;3(6):e302. 10.1002/ski2.302
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request to the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to patient's privacy reasons.
REFERENCES
- 1. De Giorgi V, Grazzini M, Alfaioli B, Savarese I, Corciova SA, Guerriero G, et al. Cutaneous manifestations of breast carcinoma. Dermatol Ther. 2010;23(6):581–589. 10.1111/j.1529-8019.2010.01365.x [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2. Paolino G, Pampena R, Grassi S, Mercuri S, Cardone M, Corsetti P, et al. Alopecia neoplastica as a sign of visceral malignancies: a systematic review. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2019;33(6):1020–1028. 10.1111/jdv.15498 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request to the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to patient's privacy reasons.