Lung Cancer–Associated Scalp Hair Loss: A Rare Cause of Secondary Alopecia Neoplastica

Cutaneous metastases from visceral cancers can herald the discovery of persistent or recurrent neoplastic disease in an oncology patient. Although less common, tumor metastases to the skin can be the presenting manifestation of an undiagnosed systemic malignancy in a previously cancer-free individual. Dessinioti et al reported a previously healthy 79-year-old man who had a visceral malignancy that initially presented as 2 asymptomatic, rapidly growing, indurated cutaneous lesions; one lesion had alopecia associated with partially ulcerated and crusted nodules on the scalp and the second lesion was a smaller similar nodule on the chin. I also had the opportunity to evaluate an oncology patient with lung cancer–associated alopecia.