title: Metastases to the breast from extramammary malignancies: a clinicopathologic study of 12 cases.
abstract: Along with a brief review of the literature, we report the clinicopathologic features of 12 cases of extramammary malignancies metastatic to the breast. Histological diagnoses of the primary tumor were as follows: non-Hodgkin diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (3 patients), acute mycloid leukemia (3 patients), serous papillary adenocarcinoma, well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, undifferentiated neoplasm, mesothelioma, and melanoma. The most common mammographic finding was a well-circumscribed mass with increased density but without speculation, calcifications or other signs that characterize the majority of primary carcinomas. Ultrasound revealed well-circumscribed masses without retrotumor acoustic shadowing. The interval between diagnosis of primary cancer and the appearance of breast metastasis ranged from 0 to 108 months (mean: 17, median: 1). Survival after the detection of the breast metastases ranged from 0.2 to 144 months (mean: 23, median: 9.5). In conclusion, metastasis can mimic either benign disease or primary malignancy and is often an unexpected diagnosis in a patient presenting with a breast mass. Thus, an accurate diagnosis is important to avoid unnecessary mutilating surgery. These masses generally indicate disseminated metastatic disease, with a very poor survival rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Ribeirăo Preto Medical School, University of Săo Paulo, Brazil. arsilva@fmrp.usp.b
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ribeiro-Silva
authors.forename: Carina Fabricia
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Igor Santos
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Heveline Becker
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: de Moura
authors.forename: Daniel Guimarăes
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Tiezzi
authors.forename: Jurandyr Moreira
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Andrade
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008327:Mammography; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis