Abstract
Breast metastases of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) are extremely rare, and only a few cases have been reported in the literature so far. Here, we report a case of metastatic MTC to the breast and axillary lymph nodes (LN). The case illustrates that (1) metastatic MTC of the breast could be clinically and pathologically misdiagnosed as primary breast cancer, such as invasive lobular carcinoma with axillary LN involvement; (2) unlike other metastatic breast cancer patients, who have very poor prognoses, our patient survived for more than 5 years after the breast and axillary surgery; and (3) metastasis of MTC to the breast is accompanied by axillary LN metastasis, which requires thorough axillary LN dissection, as in most primary breast cancers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hajdu SI, Urban JA (1972) Cancers metastatic to the breast. Cancer 29(6):1691–1696
Yeh CN, Lin CH, Chen MF (2004) Clinical and ultrasonographic characteristics of breast metastases from extramammary malignancies. Am Surg 70(4):287–290
Bartella L, Kaye J, Perry NM, Malhotra A, Evans D, Ryan D, Wells C, Vinnicombe SJ (2003) Metastases to the breast revisited: radiological-histopathological correlation. Clin Radiol 58(7):524–531
Nofech-Mozes S, Mackenzie R, Kahn HJ, Ehrlich L, Raphael SJ (2008) Breast metastasis by medullary thyroid carcinoma detected by FDG positron emission tomography. Ann Diagn Pathol 12(1):67–71. doi:10.1016/j.anndiagpath.2006.08.004
Bur M, Shiraki W, Masood S (1993) Estrogen and progesterone receptor detection in neoplastic and non-neoplastic thyroid tissues. Mod Pathol 6(4):469–472
Colomer A, Martinez-Mas JV, Matias-Guiu X, Llorens A, Cabezas R, Prat J, Garcia-Ameijeiras A (1996) Sex-steroid hormone receptors in human medullary thyroid carcinoma. Mod Pathol 9(1):68–72
Arain SA, Shah MH, Meo SA, Jamal Q (2003) Estrogen receptors in human thyroid gland. An immunohistochemical study. Saudi medical journal 24(2):174–178
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jung, S.P., Lee, H.Y., Bae, J.W. et al. Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Metastasis to the Breast and Axillary Lymph Nodes. Indian J Surg 77, 329–331 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-015-1302-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12262-015-1302-z