Metastatic breast carcinoma of the abdominal wall muscle: a case report

Abstract

Metastasis from breast carcinoma is an uncommon occurrence in skeletal muscle, compared to local invasion into muscle from direct tumor spread. A 49-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with an 8.5-cm mass in the right breast. Core needle biopsy revealed metaplastic carcinoma with squamous metaplasia. The mass was rapidly growing and metaplastic, so mastectomy with dissection of axillary lymph nodes was performed. Pathological examination showed metaplastic carcinoma, histological grade 3, triple negative, and a MIB-1 labeling index of 80%. Six months postoperatively, during adjuvant chemotherapy treatment, she reported numbness and pain in the right lateral thigh and a mass in the right lower abdomen. Computed tomography revealed multiple lined masses in the abdominal wall and iliac muscle. Core needle biopsy showed metastatic breast carcinoma. Radio- and chemotherapy were administered, but the mass in the muscle became enlarged. To control her pain, a combined treatment with morphine, fentanyl, ketamine, antiepilepsy drug, and NSAIDs was administered. Liver metastasis appeared 9 months (15 months postoperatively) after recognition of muscle metastasis, and the patient died 16 months postoperatively. Skeletal muscle metastasis is uncommon, and therapeutic intervention is mainly palliative. The most common symptom of skeletal muscle metastasis is pain; thus, pain control is a pivotal goal of treatment.

Skeletal Muscle Metastases from Breast Cancer: Two Case Reports

“…Skeletal muscle metastasis from breast cancer is also uncommon, and is often manifested as disseminated disease with multiple organ metastasis [8]. Ogiya et al [8] reported a case of breast cancer with an isolated metastasis into the abdominal wall muscle, with a review of 13 previously reported cases of which four presented as an isolated skeletal muscle metastasis without other distant metastases.…”

Abdominal wall metastasis of carcinoma breast : a case report

“…ough internal obturator lymph nodes were also present in their case report with no other distant metastasis. 3 We have done an FNAC from the lump in the abdominal muscle to con rm our diagnosis.…”

“…1,2 However, skeletal muscle metastasis from breast cancer is also a very uncommon presentation and is often manifested as disseminated disease with multiple organ metastasis. 3 Only 15 cases have been reported so far upto our knowledge. Among them sites of metastasis were extraocular muscles, paraspinal muscles and gluteal muscles, with 3 cases each.…”

A Unique Case of Muscle-Invasive Metastatic Breast Cancer Mimicking Myositis

“…However, this pattern of metastasis has been described and is usually seen with disseminated, multiorgan involvement [18]. When skeletal muscle metastases do develop, they often present as isolated, painful soft tissue masses in the involved areas [4, 18]. Typically, these metastases are challenging to evaluate with CT alone due to isodensity with surrounding muscle.…”

“…Involvement of skeletal muscle is rare, but when it occurs, it usually presents with contiguous involvement of a soft tissue lesion and may appear clinically as a lump or mass. It may also occur in the setting of extensive bone involvement or in the presence of widely disseminated disease [3, 4]. Extranodal head and neck metastases are also uncommon with only a few case reports and case series documenting involvement of the thyroid, mandible, subcutaneous tissues, or pharynx [5–11].…”