Breast metastasis 56 months before the diagnosis of primary ovarian cancer: a case study.

BACKGROUND: Breast metastasis of ovarian cancer is rare. A patient with a breast tumor which turned out to be a metastasis as the first clinical manifestation of a primary ovarian cancer diagnosed 56 months later is described.

CASE REPORT: A 72-year-old patient presented with a palpable mass in the right breast. Lumpectomy was performed and primary breast cancer was excluded. Histology confirmed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. However, further examination showed no evidence of extramammary primary malignancy. Fifty-six months later, a multicystic pelvic lesion with irregular septa was found. Laparotomy showed a tumor of the right adnexa. The final pathology confirmed the diagnosis of a primary serous ovarian carcinoma. The paraffin blocks of both tumors were reevaluated and showed that the cytological atypia and the immunohistochemical profiles [cytokeratin (CK) 5/6, CK 17, gross cystic disease fluid protein (GCDFP)-15 / BRST-2, estrogen- and progesterone receptor, cancer antigen (CA)125, Wilms tumor (WT-1), tumorsuppressor gene p53, MIB-1 (proliferation marker)] were similar in both the breast and the ovarian specimens.

CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report of a breast metastasis preceding the diagnosis of primary ovarian cancer by several years.