title: The spectrum of gastrointestinal metastases of breast carcinoma: II. The colon and rectum.
abstract: In a 15-year period at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, 17 patients were found with breast carcinoma metastatic to the colon or rectum or both. The presenting symptoms and signs were non-specific and included diarrhea, crampy pain, vomiting, and palpable tumor. Endoscopic examination, possible in only 10 of the 17 patients because of luminal obstruction, yielded a correct diagnosis in seven cases. Biopsy was confirmatory in five cases. Lesions metastatic to the colorectum originated predominantly in lobular carcinoma of the breast. Systemic hormonal or chemotherapy or x-irradiation, either alone or as an adjunct to surgery, produced a favorable response in over half the patients so treated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Taal
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: den Hartog Jager
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Peterse
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D016896:Treatment Outcome