Alopecia Neoplastica (Possibly of 28 Years' Duration). Presented by Carl T. Nelson, MD. (Originally presented Jan 28, 1964; see Arch Derm90:249-250, 1964.)
This 69-year-old white woman was first seen in January 1964 because of a gradually enlarging area of alopecia of the left vertex of the scalp of 12 years' duration. Ten years previously (in 1953), she had undergone a left radical mastectomy for carcinoma. One positive axillary lymph node was found. In January 1964, the area of alopecia was 4×5 cm in size. A biopsy showed metastatic carcinoma. The area was treated with x-rays (4,000 roentgens). For a while the patch of alopecia remained unchanged, but it then increased in size and was again treated with x-rays in 1969. In April 1971, the patch of alopecia had increased in size to 8×11 cm. A nodule (lymph node?) in the left postauricular area, first noted in 1968, had