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. 2016 May;11(5):3081-3084.
doi: 10.3892/ol.2016.4350. Epub 2016 Mar 17.

Clinical pathology of metastatic gastric carcinoma to the breast: A report of two cases and a review of literature

Qiuhong Tian  1 , Jinsheng Zeng  2 , Xueqin Tao  3 , Zhanmin Zhang  1 , Xiaodong Zhou  4 , Yiting Wang  1
Affiliations

Clinical pathology of metastatic gastric carcinoma to the breast: A report of two cases and a review of literature

Qiuhong Tian et al. Oncol Lett. 2016 May.

Abstract

The breast is an unusual site for metastasis from a gastric carcinoma. The present study reports two cases of metastatic gastric carcinoma to the breast. The first patient, a 37-year-old woman, initially presented with gastric adenocarcinoma, prior to developing metastatic cancer to the breast 4 years later. The second female patient presented with a breast mass, and a modified radical mastectomy was performed; however, the subsequent pathological examination revealed the mass to be a metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a diffuse gastric wall thickening that was consistent with gastric cancer. The findings suggest that immunohistochemistry is a useful tool to differentiate between primary breast tumors and gastrointestinal carcinomas that have metastasized to the breast. Additional studies are required in order to define the optimal treatment.

Keywords: breast metastasis; gastric carcinoma; immunohistochemistry.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Case one. Left breast with metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma: (A) Hematoxylin and eosin stain and immunohistochemical stains revealing the expression of (B) cytokeratin 7, (C) villin and (D) carcinoembryonic antigen (magnification, ×400).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Case two. Right breast with metastatic signet ring cell carcinoma: (A) Hematoxylin and eosin stain and immunohistochemical stains revealing the expression of (B) cytokeratin 20 and (C) villin (magnification, ×400). (D) Linitis plastica revealed by gastroscopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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