Orbital metastasis from breast carcinoma presenting as neurotrophic keratitis

This is a case report of an 81-year-old woman with previous breast cancer. The patient presented with a history of unilateral painless red eye and displayed on examination a nodule in the superior orbital rim, proptosis, and neurotrophic keratitis. Clinical and radiographic examinations were followed by biopsy of the orbital mass. Computed tomography displayed an extraconal mass adjacent to the left superior orbital rim extending to the soft tissues. Light microscopy findings suggested the diagnosis of orbital metastatic breast carcinoma that was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The histopathologic diagnosis was metastatic adenocarcinoma of the breast to the left orbit.

This study emphasizes that orbital metastasis must be considered in patients with ocular complaints and neoplastic disease thought to be stable.