A case of secondary alopecia due to scalp metastasis in patient with cholangiocarcinoma

Alopecia due to metastatic skin cancer is a rare form of cutaneous metastasis and it should be considered as a diagnosis of localized alopecia. It also signifies the failure of treatment of the primary cancer. A 51-year-old Korean woman presented with multiple pea-sized smooth hairless nodules and an ulcerated nodule on the parietal scalp regions. About two and a half years ago, she underwent an operation and chemotherapy for cholangiocarcinoma. The tumor cells seen in the scalp nodule were the same as those seen in the primary tumor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of secondary alopecia due to cutaneous metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma in Korean dermatological literature.