Cancer Res Treat.  2010 Sep;42(3):172-175.

A Case of Metachronous Metastasis to the Breast from Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

• Yoon MY
• Song CS
• Seo MH
• Kim MJ
• Oh TY
• Jang UH
• Kwag HJ
• Kim HS
• Lim SY
• Lim SY
• Lee SS

Abstract

Breast metastases from an extramammary primary tumor are very rare and the prognosis for such patients is generally poor. We report here on a case of a 42-year-old female with metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer to the breast, and she is now being followed up on an outpatient basis. In 2004, she presented with a solitary pulmonary nodule in the left lung, and this lesion had been noted to have gradually increased in size over time. The final pathological diagnosis was adenocarcinoma, and the diagnosis was made by performing percutaneous needle aspiration and lobectomy of the left upper lobe. Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy were given. Unfortunately, a nodule in the left breast was noted three years later, and metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer to the breast was diagnosed by excisional biopsy. Making the correct diagnosis to distinguish a primary breast carcinoma from a metastatic one is important, because the therapeutic plan and outcome for these two types of cancer are quite different.

Keyword

Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Metachronous breast metastasis; Adenocarcinoma

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma
Adult
Biopsy
Breast
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
Female
Humans
Lung
Lung Neoplasms
Needles
Neoplasm Metastasis
Outpatients
Prognosis
Solitary Pulmonary Nodule

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Chest CT shows a slender nodule (2 cm in length) in the left upper lobe (the anterior apical segment).

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  Fig. 2 The microscopic findings of the lung biopsy show adenocarcinoma (the bronchial-alveolar type).

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  Fig. 3 (A) Chest CT reveals suspicious small nodules with enhancement in the left breast. (B) Breast ultrasonography showed two oval or round shaped homogeneous hypoechoic lesions (category 4/5). The two nodules were 1.2 cm in diameter over the 12 o'clock direction and 0.8 cm in diameter over the 1 o'clock direction of the left breast.

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  Fig. 4 (A) Breast biopsy shows a well differentiated adenocarcinoma (H&E, ×400). (B) Immunohistochemical staining for thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) in the adenocarcinoma of the breast. (C) The immunohistochemical staining is negative for estrogen receptor (ER) and progesteron receptor (PR) in the adenocarcinoma of the breast.

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