Skin Lesions in Patient With Metastatic Breast Cancer

Poll

A 57-year-old woman with metastatic HER2/neu-positive breast cancer started treatment with a combination of docetaxel, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab. On the fourth cycle the patient complained of mild irritation and a skin rash on her left upper extremity. What is your diagnosis?

A 57-year-old woman with metastatic HER2/neu-positive breast cancer started treatment with a combination of docetaxel, pertuzumab, and trastuzumab. On the fourth cycle the patient complained of mild irritation and a skin rash on her left upper extremity. She denied significant pain and pruritus. She did not report fever, fatigue, headache, or flu-like symptoms. On exam, the right upper arm revealed an erythematous patch along the C6 dermatome. A cluster of punctate hemorrhagic vesicles with crust and scale was noted centrally (left). A Giemsa stain of the scrape and smear obtained from the lesion is shown below (right).

Based on the images shown, what is your diagnosis?

A. Skin reaction due to docetaxel chemotherapy
B. Skin reaction due to a combination of trastuzumab and pertuzumab
C. Metastatic breast cancer to the skin
D. Herpes zoster infection of the skin