Metastases to the breast: great radiological mimicker of primary breast carcinoma and a forgotten entity. A case series of three patients and a review of the literature

Abstract

Metastases to breast accounts for 0.5–1.3% of all breast malignancies, with the exclusion of leukaemia and lymphoma. These have a wide range of clinical and radiological manifestations and their diagnosis is difficult. There is a need to distinguish them from primary breast carcinoma to prevent unnecessary mastectomy. Imaging and immunohistological correlation plays a vital role in distinguishing this. Our case series review describes the clinical presentation, radiological and histopathological appearances of three patients who presented to our institution.

A Case Series of Breast Metastases from Different Extramammary Malignancies and Their Literature Review

“…Contrary to this, the overall appearance of lymphatic metastases is hypoechoic masses associated with axillary or internal mammary lymph node enlargement, diffuse skin thickening, obliteration of subcutaneous fat, and lymphatic dilation secondary to mechanical obstruction of draining lymphatics [53]. It is suggested that the most common tumors that follow a spread pattern similar to the lymphatic metastases are the ovarian cancer and malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract [54]. Consistently, two of our cases of metastatic ovarian cancer exhibited the typical features of inflammatory carcinoma, supporting the notion that ovarian cancer cells preferentially metastasize via the lymphatic system due to the involvement of pelvic and para-aortic lymph nodes.…”