Regression of choroidal metastasis from breast carcinoma with palbociclib

Uveal metastasis is reported to be the most common intraocular malignancy. The most common site of origin of ocular metastases in females is the breast. In some cases, uveal metastatic lesions respond to systemic chemotherapy. We report a case of a patient who developed choroidal metastasis, while on endocrine therapy with selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), tamoxifen, for estrogen receptor (ER) positive, progesterone receptor (PR) positive and (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) HER2 negative primary breast carcinoma, which then regressed following systemic chemotherapy with palbociclib.

An 83-year-old female, with a history of modified radical mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy for infiltrating duct carcinoma of the breast, presented with a choroidal metastatic lesion in the left eye along with liver and lung metastases, 3 years after the primary carcinoma was treated. At the time of presentation, she was on tamoxifen. The choroidal tumor showed regression after the introduction of palbociclib, a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor.

This report highlights the use of palbociclib, in the palliative treatment of choroidal metastasis from primary breast cancer. The use of chemotherapy for choroidal metastasis can help avoid external beam radiation therapy and its concurrent side effects. Although there are a few reports involving the use of palbociclib for metastatic breast carcinoma, all of those have been in conjunction with and/or following non-response to other treatment modalities. Ours is the first report wherein palbociclib has been used as the first-line palliative chemotherapy and helped in regression of choroidal metastasis.