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Metastasis of breast cancer to a uterine leiomyoma

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Abstract

Metastasis of breast cancer to a uterine leiomyoma is rare. We review the clinicopathological features of breast cancer metastasis to a uterine leiomyoma and discuss possible effective treatment. We describe a case of a woman who presented with abdominal discomfort after undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer. At the time of mastectomy, imaging showed osseous metastases involvement to the right kidney. The patient underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Microscopic examination disclosed carcinoma of breast origin localized within the leiomyoma. To date, the patient is alive and asymptomatic after treatment with anastozole and capecitabine for 11 months. Per reports in the literature, abnormal uterine bleeding or a rapidly growing leiomyoma may be symptomatic of breast cancer metastasis to a uterine leiomyoma, especially if a patient has a previous diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Palliative hysterectomy can potentially improve prognosis in patients whose cancer is restricted to a uterine leiomyoma with or without involvement of lymph nodes, and may offer relief of genital tract symptoms in patients who have widespread involvement of non-life-threatening metastases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Meijo Hospital, 1-3-1 Sannomaru, Naka-ku, Nagoya, 460-0001, Japan

    Naoko Iwahashi Kondo & Toshio Uematsu

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meijo Hospital, 1-3-1 Sannomaru, Naka-ku, Nagoya, 460-0001, Japan

    Seiya Yoshida

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduated School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan

    Hiroaki Kajiyama

  4. Department of Pathology, Nagoya University Graduated School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan

    Tetsuro Nagasaka

Authors
  1. Naoko Iwahashi Kondo
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  2. Seiya Yoshida
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  3. Hiroaki Kajiyama
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  4. Tetsuro Nagasaka
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  5. Toshio Uematsu
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Correspondence to Naoko Iwahashi Kondo.

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Kondo, N.I., Yoshida, S., Kajiyama, H. et al. Metastasis of breast cancer to a uterine leiomyoma. Breast Cancer 16, 157–161 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-008-0069-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-008-0069-5

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