Zygomatic metastasis from breast cancer.
Breast cancer continues to be the second most common cancer among women, after nonmelanoma skin cancer; in the United States, there is an average lifetime risk of 11% for developing a breast malignancy. Metastatic tumors from distant primary foci to the maxillofacial (MF) region are reported to account for only 1% of all MF malignancies, usually with grave prognosis. In the MF region, the bones more frequently involved in metastasis are the mandible, maxilla, temporal bone, frontal bone, and malar bone; the soft tissues more affected are gingiva, parotid gland, tongue, submandibular gland, and cheek. We describe a unique case of a solitary mass found in the body of the right zygoma, revealing a metastasis from breast cancer. According to the literature, the zygomatic complex is a very unusual site for metastasis; we found only 4 cases of metastatic localization from lung, rectum, liver, and uterine cancer. In MF region, oral and nasal cavity has been described as atypical sites of metastasis from breast cancer; this is to our knowledge the first recorded instance of malar metastasis from breast cancer.
Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery Azienda Ospedaliera Maggiore della Carità University of Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro, Novara, Italy.
Matteo
M
Brucoli
Francesco
F
Arcuri
Livia
L
Stellin
Arnaldo
A
Benech
D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000556:secondary*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007085:Ilium / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D015409:Mastectomy, Radical; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D015050:Zygoma / Q000473:pathology*