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CC BY 4.0 · Brazilian Journal of Oncology 2021; 17: e-20200043
DOI: 10.5935/2526-8732.20200043
Letter to the Editor
Clinical Oncology

Invasive lobular breast carcinoma metastatic to the colon: a case report of a rare condition and its challenges

Carcinoma lobular invasivo de mama metastático para o cólon: relato de caso de uma condição rara e seus desafios

Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues 
1   Clementino Fraga Filho University Hospital/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Department of Medical Oncology - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
,
Letícia Morais Sermoud 
2   Américas Centro de Oncologia Integrado and Instituto COI de Educação e Pesquisa, Department of Medical Oncology - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
,
Maria Fátima Gaui 
1   Clementino Fraga Filho University Hospital/ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Department of Medical Oncology - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
2   Américas Centro de Oncologia Integrado and Instituto COI de Educação e Pesquisa, Department of Medical Oncology - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
,
José Ricardo Souza 
3   Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Department of Surgical Oncology - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
› Author Affiliations Financial support: none to declare.
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ABSTRACT

The most common sites for metastatic breast neoplasm are the bones, lungs, liver, and central nervous system. Metastases to the gastrointestinal tract are rare and especially involve the stomach, more than to the colon. The clinical and radiological presentation of the metastatic disease usually does not aid in making the differential diagnosis between primary neoplastic lesions of the colon or rectum and metastases from breast cancer. This often results in inadequate initial treatment. The clinical, radiological and histopathological diagnoses are challenging, and immunohistochemical analyses become necessary in most cases. Therefore, publication in the medical literature of more cases like this one should be stimulated, with the aim of gaining more data on treatments that are used and hence to clarify what the best approach is, focusing especially on better quality of life and survival for these patients.

RESUMO

Os locais mais comuns de neoplasia metastática da mama são os ossos, pulmões, fígado e sistema nervoso central. As metástases do trato gastrointestinal são raras e envolvem especialmente o estômago, mais do que o cólon. A apresentação clínica e radiológica da doença metastática geralmente não ajuda a fazer o diagnóstico diferencial entre lesões neoplásicas primárias do cólon ou reto e metástases de câncer de mama. Isso geralmente resulta em tratamento inicial inadequado. Os diagnósticos clínico, radiológico e histopatológico são desafiadores, e análises imunohistoquímicas tornam-se necessárias na maioria dos casos. Portanto, deve-se estimular a publicação na literatura médica de mais casos como este, com o objetivo de se obter mais dados sobre os tratamentos que são utilizados e, assim, esclarecer qual é a melhor abordagem, com foco principalmente na melhor qualidade de vida e sobrevida destes pacientes.

Keywords:

Lobular breast carcinoma - Breast neoplasm - Neoplasm metastasis - Gastrointestinal cancer.

Descritores:

Carcinoma lobular da mama - Neoplasia da mama - Metástase de neoplasia - Câncer gastrointestinal.


Publication History

Received: 19 May 2020

Accepted: 09 October 2020

Article published online:
18 January 2021

© 2022. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Bibliographical Record
Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues, Letícia Morais Sermoud, Maria Fátima Gaui, José Ricardo Souza. Invasive lobular breast carcinoma metastatic to the colon: a case report of a rare condition and its challenges. Brazilian Journal of Oncology 2021; 17: e-20200043.
DOI: 10.5935/2526-8732.20200043
 

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