Ocular metastasis from breast carcinoma simulating anterior scleritis: a case report

Breast cancer is one of the commonest sources of ocular metastasis. Patients with ocular metastatic disease can present with a variable clinical picture. Patients with a history of breast cancer presenting with any eye symptom should be evaluated with consideration of ocular metastasis.

We report a case of ocular metastasis in a 46-year-old Brahmin woman presenting with right eye pain. She had been treated for stage IIIc left-sided breast cancer 2 years ago with six cycles of chemotherapy with docetaxel, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide after undergoing modified radical mastectomy. An ophthalmic examination revealed a tender subconjunctival swelling superotemporally on retracting right upper eyelid. This finding alone indicated anterior scleritis. On examining fundus under mydriasis, an amelanotic subretinal mass could be visualized in the posterior pole superotemporal to macula. An orbital magnetic resonance imaging revealed a mass of 2 × 1 cm in size in the subretinal space of her right eye. Computed tomography of her chest was then done and showed multiple metastases in both lungs.

This case report highlights the fact that any unusual ocular presentation, even one simulating anterior scleritis, in a patient with a history of breast cancer should raise suspicion of metastasis.