São Paulo Medical Journal (Nov 2017)

Solitary pancreatic metastasis from breast cancer: case report and review of literature

  • Márcio Apodaca-Rueda,
  • Fábio Henrique Mendonça Chaim,
  • Milena da Silva Garcia,
  • Helena Paes de Almeida de Saito,
  • Martinho Antonio Gestic,
  • Murillo Pimentel Utrini,
  • Francisco Callejas-Neto,
  • Elinton Adami Chaim,
  • Everton Cazzo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-3180.2017.0144260617
Journal volume & issue
no. 0

Abstract

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ABSTRACT CONTEXT: Pancreatic metastases from primary malignant tumors at other sites are rare, constituting about 2% of the neoplasms that affect the pancreas. Pancreatic metastasis from breast cancer is extremely rare and difficult to diagnose, because its clinical and radiological presentation is similar to that of a primary pancreatic tumor. CASE REPORT: A 64-year-old female developed a lesion in the pancreatic tail 24 months after neoadjuvant therapy, surgery and adjuvant radiation therapy for right-side breast cancer (ductal carcinoma). She underwent distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy and left adrenalectomy, and presented an uneventful outcome. The immunohistochemical analysis on the surgical specimen suggested that the lesion originated from the breast. CONCLUSION: In cases of pancreatic lesions detected in patients with a previous history of breast neoplasm, the possibility of pancreatic metastasis should be carefully considered.

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