Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Carcinoma Involving Tamoxifen-related Endometrial Polyp in a Patient With...

Metastasis of extragenital malignancies to the female genital tract, particularly the uterus, is exceedingly rare. Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the most common histological type of breast carcinoma that metastasizes to gynecologic organs.

A 42-year-old woman receiving tamoxifen presented with an irregularly thickened endometrium on transvaginal ultrasonography. She had previously undergone bilateral partial mastectomies - eight years prior for right-sided invasive ductal carcinoma, and three years prior for left-sided ILC. Hysteroscopic evaluation revealed an endometrial polyp. Microscopic examination of the polypectomy specimen showed variably sized, irregularly shaped branching glands embedded in densely fibrotic stroma. Within the stroma, monomorphic tumor cells with hyperchromatic, eccentrically located nuclei were arranged in single files, thin cords, or nests. Immunostaining revealed that the tumor cells were positive for GATA-binding protein 3 and negative for paired box 8, supporting a diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma from the breast. The final pathological diagnosis was metastatic ILC involving a tamoxifen-associated endometrial polyp.

Although rare, breast carcinoma may metastasize to endometrial polyps. Clinicians and pathologists should consider this possibility when evaluating abnormal ultrasonographic findings in the female genital tract, particularly in patients with a history of breast carcinoma receiving tamoxifen therapy. Abnormal ultrasonographic findings in the uterus of such patients warrant a comprehensive diagnostic workup to exclude metastatic disease.