Scirrhous colonic metastasis from ductal carcinoma of the breast: report of a case

Abstract

Metastasis of breast cancer to the colon is rare. We report a case of a 49-year-old female who presented with a stenotic tumor of the descending colon five years after treatment of breast cancer with mastectomy and pedicled transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap. Laparotomy showed a diffusely infiltrated tumor over the descending colon. Anterior resection with loop ileostomy was performed, and the pathology showed that the colonic wall and the mesentery were diffusely infiltrated with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, which stained strongly for cytokeratin 7. The histologic diagnosis is consistent with colonic metastasis from ductal carcinoma of breast origin. In a patient with a history of breast cancer, colonic metastasis from the breast primary cancer should be considered, especially if the colonic lesion is scirrhous in nature. The incision for laparotomy and the probable stoma site should be planned carefully in females after breast reconstructive surgery.