Ovarian cancer presenting as an axillary mass: Case series and literature review

Abstract

Aim: Ovarian cancer is a common cause of death in women worldwide. The purpose of this article was to report a case series and draw physicians' attention to the benefits of histpathologic techniques in determining uncommon metastatic diseases.

Methods: In this study, we report a case series of axillary involvement of ovarian cancer in 6 patients. The data were collected between 2006 and 2015 by analyzing patient's characteristics, and biochemical and immunohistochemical features. No pathologic lesions were detected in breasts. Specific immunohistochemical methods such as GCDFP-15, CA12-5, WT-1, and PAX-8 supported evidence of metastasis from ovarian cancer to axillary lymph nodes.

Results: Biochemical tests showed increased levels of CA12-5 in all patients. In 5 patients, GCDFP-15 was negative and WT-1 was positive with specific immunohistochemical staining. PAX-8 was positive in 3 of 5 patients.

Conclusions: Physicians need to be aware that histopathologic and immunohistochemical results can make a significant contribution in determining the true primary tissue of metastatic adenocarcinoma, even in the absence of typical clinical findings.

Keywords: Axillary; Breast; Lymph node; Ovarian cancer.