Open AccessPalliative and supportive care in acrometastasis to the hand: Case series
Author(s) -
Narendra Kumar,
Ritesh Kumar,
Anjan Bera,
Pankaj Kumar,
Shabab Angurana,
Sushmita Ghosal,
Radhika Srinivasan,
Suresh C. Sharma
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
indian journal of palliative care/indian journal of palliative care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.395
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1998-3735
pISSN - 0973-1075
DOI - 10.4103/0973-1075.92347
Subject(s) - medicine , presentation (obstetrics) , palliative care , radiation therapy , cancer survivorship , larynx , cancer , survivorship curve , general surgery , basal cell , radiation oncology , intensive care medicine , surgery , nursing
Acrometastasis to the hand is an unusual presentation which might mimic an infectious, inflammatory, or a metabolic pathology. We herein describe a case series of three patients of acrometastasis to the hand. We encountered three cases of acrometastasis to the hand attending the departmental clinics from 2007 to 2010. The median age at presentation was noted to be 55 years. All were males. The primaries included squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, larynx, and esophagus. In two patients, acrometastasis was detected at presentation and in one it was detected 2 years postcompletion of radical therapy. Two patients were offered palliative radiation to acrometastasis, and best supportive care was given to one. Palliation achieved after radiation was noted to be modest to good. The brief report highlights the importance of the clinical awareness of metastatic dissemination to unusual sites in the face of increasing cancer survivorship. Acrometastasis portends a poor prognosis with limited survival, and optimal integration of the best supportive care is mandatory. A short course of hypofractionated palliative radiation therapy results in modest to good palliation.