Metastasis of cancer to cancer. A case of breast carcinoma metastasizing to a malignant mesothelioma

Our plain-English summary of Metastasis of cancer to cancer. A case of breast carcinoma metastasizing to a malignant mesothelioma, by H.J. Andersen, L.G. Hansen, S.M. Paulsen (The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon, 1986).

The study

• Authors: H.J. Andersen, L.G. Hansen, S.M. Paulsen
• Journal: The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeon
• Published: 1986;34(4):258-9
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Metastasis of cancer to cancer is exceedingly rare, the most frequent being metastasis from bronchogenic carcinoma to renal carcinoma. A case of breast carcinoma metastasizing to a fibrosarcomatous malignant mesothelioma is presented. Breast carcinoma metastasizing to another carcinoma has been reported 4 times in the past. To our knowledge no case of breast carcinoma metastasizing to a malignant mesenchymal tumor has been published. It is unknown whether metastasis of cancer to cancer is a random occurrence or is due to selective lodging, survival and growth within another malignant neoplasm.

In plain English

This article was a case report of one patient at Aalborg Hospital, Denmark. A 59-year-old woman had undergone mastectomies in 1970 and 1983 for bilateral breast carcinoma, each followed by postoperative irradiation. In September 1985 the patient was admitted with a growing left-sided pleural tumor. Surgeons removed an 8 x 6 x 4 cm tumor, classified as a fibrosarcomatous malignant mesothelioma, made mostly of spindle-shaped cells with a high mitotic rate in some areas. Within this tumor were areas of metastasis from a carcinoma whose pattern matched the small pleural nodules and the earlier breast carcinomas. On immunohistochemical testing, the spindle cells were negative for keratin, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), while the tubule epithelium stained strongly for all three. The authors considered whether the tumor was a biphasic malignant mesothelioma, but judged that the findings supported metastasis of cancer to cancer. They described it as the first report of a breast carcinoma metastasizing to a fibrosarcomatous malignant mesothelioma. The article did not mention asbestos exposure, and a single case does not show how often this occurs.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report
• Who was studied: One 59-year-old woman, previously treated for bilateral breast carcinoma, admitted in September 1985 to the department of thoracic surgery, Aalborg Hospital, Denmark, with a progressive left-sided pleural tumor
• Exposure: No asbestos exposure is reported in the article. The patient's reported history was bilateral breast carcinoma treated by mastectomies in 1970 and 1983, each followed by postoperative irradiation therapy.
• Main results:
  • The removed pleural tumor measured 8 x 6 x 4 cm and was classified as a fibrosarcomatous malignant mesothelioma. It was composed mostly of uniform spindle cells, and some areas had a high mitotic rate (20 mitoses per 10 high-power fields).
  • Within the mesothelioma were areas of metastasis from a carcinoma, made of tubules of malignant epithelium, whose pattern was identical to the small pleural nodules and to the breast carcinomas
  • On immunohistochemistry, the mesothelioma's spindle cells stained negative for keratin, CEA and EMA
  • The epithelium of the tubules (the metastasis) stained strongly with all three antisera
  • The authors considered the possibility of a biphasic malignant mesothelioma, but stated that the histological similarity to the breast carcinoma and the immunohistochemical results supported metastasis of cancer to cancer
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that the case met published criteria for metastasis of cancer to cancer, and presented it as the first report of a breast carcinoma metastasizing to a fibrosarcomatous malignant mesothelioma

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Metastasis, Carcinoma, Mesothelioma, Bronchogenic Carcinoma, Mesenchymal Tumor, Neoplasm.

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