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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
Quantitation of Intra-peritoneal Ovarian Cancer Metastasis
Published on: July 18, 2016
Breast metastasis 56 months before the diagnosis of primary ovarian cancer: a case study
Susanne E Schneuber1, Heinz S Scholz, Peter Regitnig
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Graz, A-8036 Graz, Austria. susanne.schneuber@klinkum-graz.at
Background:
Breast metastasis of ovarian cancer is rare. A patient with a breast tumor which turned out to be a metastasis as the first clinical manifestation of a primary ovarian cancer diagnosed 56 months later is described.
Case Report:
A 72-year-old patient presented with a palpable mass in the right breast. Lumpectomy was performed and primary breast cancer was excluded. Histology confirmed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. However, further examination showed no evidence of extramammary primary malignancy. Fifty-six months later, a multicystic pelvic lesion with irregular septa was found. Laparotomy showed a tumor of the right adnexa. The final pathology confirmed the diagnosis of a primary serous ovarian carcinoma. The paraffin blocks of both tumors were reevaluated and showed that the cytological atypia and the immunohistochemical profiles [cytokeratin (CK) 5/6, CK 17, gross cystic disease fluid protein (GCDFP)-15 / BRST-2, estrogen- and progesterone receptor, cancer antigen (CA)125, Wilms tumor (WT-1), tumorsuppressor gene p53, MIB-1 (proliferation marker)] were similar in both the breast and the ovarian specimens.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is the first report of a breast metastasis preceding the diagnosis of primary ovarian cancer by several years.
