title: Metastatic papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cutaneous metastases from thyroid carcinomas, although uncommon, have been previously reported and are usually found in association with evidence of disseminated disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report a 75-year-old male who presented with a 4-cm reddish violaceous nodule on the left temple and a clinical history significant for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microscopic examination of a 4-mm punch biopsy revealed a poorly circumscribed neoplasm with focal epidermal connection and multiple cystic cavities and papillary projections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This case report describes a solitary cutaneous lesion as the first evidence of disseminated neoplastic disease in a patient with no other clinical evidence of concurrent metastases. The histology of the lesion was unusual in that it mimicked a primary cutaneous neoplasm.
authors.affiliation: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. mahalinm@questdiagnostics.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahalingam
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bhawan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*