title: ACTH-Producing Breast Cancer: A Patient Report.
abstract: Ectopic ACTH secretion in the setting of breast cancer is extremely rare but when present affects both the tumor's behavior and the incidence of complications. The patient, a 58-year-old woman, first presented with a mass in her left breast as well as multiple osseous metastases and a right femur fracture. Laboratory data revealed a hypokalemic alkalosis. Her plasma ACTH level was elevated. She was diagnosed with breast cancer with ectopic ACTH secretion, and underwent a left mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection. Histological examination demonstrated a poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma with ectopic ACTH secretion. Although the signs and symptoms of ectopic ACTH secretion from a breast cancer are frequently subtle, the recognition of ectopic ACTH secretion from breast cancer is important for patient management.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Tottori University Hospital, Yonago 683-8504, Japan.
authors.forename: Naotaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Kiyosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suda
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.forename: Motonobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishimura
keywords: adrenocorticotropic hormone; breast cancer; neuroendocrine cancer
references.citation: World J Gastroenterol. 2003 Apr;9(4):858-61
references.pmid: 12679948
references.citation: South Med J. 1984 Apr;77(4):518-20
references.pmid: 6324385
references.citation: Breast J. 2004 Jul-Aug;10(4):350-4
references.pmid: 15239795
references.citation: Cancer. 1981 Apr 1;47(7):1823-7
references.pmid: 6261928
references.citation: Indian J Exp Biol. 2005 Jan;43(1):35-9
references.pmid: 15691063
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006 Feb;91(2):371-7
references.pmid: 16303835
references.citation: Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1999 May;50(5):675-8
references.pmid: 10468935
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Aug;90(8):4955-62
references.pmid: 15914534
references.citation: Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2007 Nov;51(8):1217-25
references.pmid: 18209859
references.citation: Cancer. 1979 Jun;43(6):2370-6
references.pmid: 222422