A CASE OF COLON METASTASIS FROM BREAST CANCER

Abstract

Breast cancer can easily metastasize to the local skin, regional lymph node, lung, and bone and seldom to the liver and brain. But the intestine is a really rare first recurrent site. A 68-year-old woman was referred to the hospital who had a previous history of undergoing modified radical mastectomy for a right breast cancer (T2a, NOMO, Stage II) 7 years before. The resected specimen revealed scirrhos carcinoma with one positive node in the axillary lymph node and ER (+), PgR (-). The patient had been in excellent state before visit to other hospital when she developed upper abdominal distension, nausea, and vomiting, upper gastrointestinal barium studies and abdominal ultrasonography, revealed a narrowing in the third portion of the duodenum. Abdominal CT and upper abdominal angiography on admission indicated a tumor of the pancreas head. Under a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, laparotomy was performed. Abdominal exploration revealed that a part of the transverse colon adhered to the third portion of the duodenum with disseminated nodules. Histological examination revealed that nodules on the serous membrane of the transverse colon were metastatic nodules from breast cancer. This case offers an interesting consideration in terms of metastasizing pattern of breast cancer.