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Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
CASE REPORT
Metastatic ductal carcinoma of the breast to colonic mucosa
  1. Angela E Schellenberg1,
  2. Melissa Lillian Wood2,
  3. Nick Baniak3,
  4. Paul Hayes2
  1. 1Department of General Surgery, Selkirk Regional Health Centre, Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada
  2. 2Department of Surgery, University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
  3. 3Department of Pathology, University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
  1. Correspondence to Dr Melissa Lillian Wood, m.wood{at}usask.ca

Summary

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women, while invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common type of invasive breast cancer. Metastatic spread to the colon and rectum in breast cancer is rare. This report describes a case of a 69-year-old woman with metastatic ductal breast cancer to the rectosigmoid, presenting as an incidental finding on screening colonoscopy. The breast carcinoma was first diagnosed 2 years prior. Colonic biopsies from colonoscopy confirmed metastatic adenocarcinoma consistent with a breast primary. Ultimately her clinical condition worsened as she developed malignant ascites, a small bowel obstruction, and new bone metastases, and the patient succumbed to her illness. Cases of metastatic breast cancer to the gastrointestinal tract have predominantly been lobular breast carcinoma. Increased awareness of colonic metastasis may lead to more accurate diagnosis and earlier systemic treatment.

  • breast surgery
  • breast cancer
  • endoscopy

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2018-224216

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors AES completed the design of the case report, acquisition of data, the analysis and interpretation of this same content. She was essential in the drafting and revision of the article. MLW was involved in data acquisition, manuscript creation, manuscript revisions, coordinating amongst team members, final approval and manuscript submission. NB contributed to the acquisition of, analysis of and interpretation of all pathology content in the case report. PH was involved in all aspects of the case report from concept initiation to final revisions. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work included in this case report. All authors included above who have been given authorship with this case report fulfill the criteria for authorship. In addition, there are no authors who meet the criteria for authorship but have not been included here.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Next of kin consent obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.