[A lump in the breast. A rare first symptom of ovarian cancer]

The breast is an uncommon site for metastasis from extramammary primaries. A 43-year-old woman presented with a lump in the left breast. A tumour with atypical microcalcifications was seen on the mammogram. Needle aspiration cytology revealed adenocarcinoma cells. The final histological diagnosis was papillary adenocarcinoma with psammoma bodies, probably secondary to an ovarian carcinoma. A bilateral carcinoma of the ovaries was subsequently diagnosed and treated. A mammary tumour with an atypical growth pattern and the absence of in situ carcinoma should always prompt the pathologist to considering the possibility of a metastatic tumour even though this is a rare occurrence. Earlier recognition of metastatic tumours to the breast may result in initiation of appropriate therapy and will preclude unnecessary surgical procedures.