Multiple skin metastases in forearm from base tongue carcinoma

SummaryDistant metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cancer (SCCHN) are most often to the lung, liver and bone. SCCHN rarely metastasizes to skin sites. We encountered a 58-year-old male patient who initially presented with carcinoma of the base of tongue with T3N2bMO disease and was treated by curative radiotherapy. After about one and a half years, he developed multiple skin lesions in the left forearm below the elbow region, which was initially treated for some infective pathology of skin. But due to no response, cytological examination performed which turned out to be metastasis from tongue carcinoma. The present case report describes this rare event along with highlighting some of the important issues which to be considered under such conditions