Brain metastases from apocrine carcinoma of the scalp: case report

Apocrine carcinoma is an extremely rare malignant neoplasm that occurs most frequently in the axilla. Although it usually shows an indolent clinical course, it often metastasizes to regional lymph nodes and sometimes to lungs or bones. However, a literature search did not reveal any report describing the detailed clinical course of brain metastases from apocrine carcinoma. We report a case of a 54-year-old male who suffered from multiple brain metastases from apocrine carcinoma that had originated in the scalp 6 years before. The brain metastases appeared in spite of several regimens of chemotherapy for lung metastases for two years. The tumor in the right frontal lobe was successfully operated. However, the small tumor in the right occipital lobe was not cured by gamma knife surgery, and eventually required second operation. The operation had contributed to his neurologically independent life for about one year until he died for gradual progression of lung metastases. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of metastatic brain tumor from apocrine carcinoma.