Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia

Background. Intra-abdominal metastases of invasive lobular breast cancer (ILBC) may be insidious. We report a case of metastatic ILBC that presented with dysphagia within weeks of a negative mammogram and before the development of intra-abdominal symptoms. Case. A 70-year-old female developed esopha...

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Main Authors: Lilit Karapetyan, Heather Laird-Fick, Reuben Cuison
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Oncological Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7065674
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author Lilit Karapetyan
Heather Laird-Fick
Reuben Cuison
author_facet Lilit Karapetyan
Heather Laird-Fick
Reuben Cuison
author_sort Lilit Karapetyan
collection DOAJ
description Background. Intra-abdominal metastases of invasive lobular breast cancer (ILBC) may be insidious. We report a case of metastatic ILBC that presented with dysphagia within weeks of a negative mammogram and before the development of intra-abdominal symptoms. Case. A 70-year-old female developed esophageal dysphagia. She underwent EGD which showed a short segment of stricture of the distal esophagus without significant mucosal changes. Biopsy was unremarkable and patient underwent lower esophageal sphincter (LES) dilation. Severe progressive dysphagia led to esophageal impaction and three LES dilatations. CT scan showed bilateral pleural effusions, more prominent on right side, and ascites. The pleural effusions were transudative. Repeat EGD with biopsy showed lymphocytic esophagitis, and she was started on swallowed fluticasone. Abdominal ultrasound with Doppler showed that the main portal vein had atypical turbulent flow that was felt to possibly be due to retroperitoneal process. The patient underwent diagnostic laparoscopy which revealed diffuse punctate lesions on the peritoneum. Pathology was consistent with metastatic ILBC. Conclusion. Dysphagia in the setting of peritoneal carcinomatosis from metastatic ILBC is a rare finding. The case highlights the importance of metastatic ILBC as a differential diagnosis for female patients with progressive dysphagia and associated ascites or pleural effusions.
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spelling doaj-art-c19be3ab3b7b4504b672611e349ebb662025-02-03T01:10:44ZengWileyCase Reports in Oncological Medicine2090-67062090-67142017-01-01201710.1155/2017/70656747065674Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal DysphagiaLilit Karapetyan0Heather Laird-Fick1Reuben Cuison2Department of Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, 788 Service Road Suite B301, East Lansing, MI, USADepartment of Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, 788 Service Road Suite B301, East Lansing, MI, USAPathology Department, EW Sparrow Hospital, 1215 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing, MI 48909-7980, USABackground. Intra-abdominal metastases of invasive lobular breast cancer (ILBC) may be insidious. We report a case of metastatic ILBC that presented with dysphagia within weeks of a negative mammogram and before the development of intra-abdominal symptoms. Case. A 70-year-old female developed esophageal dysphagia. She underwent EGD which showed a short segment of stricture of the distal esophagus without significant mucosal changes. Biopsy was unremarkable and patient underwent lower esophageal sphincter (LES) dilation. Severe progressive dysphagia led to esophageal impaction and three LES dilatations. CT scan showed bilateral pleural effusions, more prominent on right side, and ascites. The pleural effusions were transudative. Repeat EGD with biopsy showed lymphocytic esophagitis, and she was started on swallowed fluticasone. Abdominal ultrasound with Doppler showed that the main portal vein had atypical turbulent flow that was felt to possibly be due to retroperitoneal process. The patient underwent diagnostic laparoscopy which revealed diffuse punctate lesions on the peritoneum. Pathology was consistent with metastatic ILBC. Conclusion. Dysphagia in the setting of peritoneal carcinomatosis from metastatic ILBC is a rare finding. The case highlights the importance of metastatic ILBC as a differential diagnosis for female patients with progressive dysphagia and associated ascites or pleural effusions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7065674
spellingShingle Lilit Karapetyan
Heather Laird-Fick
Reuben Cuison
Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia
Case Reports in Oncological Medicine
title Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia
title_full Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia
title_fullStr Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia
title_full_unstemmed Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia
title_short Metastatic Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Presenting Clinically with Esophageal Dysphagia
title_sort metastatic invasive lobular breast cancer presenting clinically with esophageal dysphagia
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/7065674
work_keys_str_mv AT lilitkarapetyan metastaticinvasivelobularbreastcancerpresentingclinicallywithesophagealdysphagia
AT heatherlairdfick metastaticinvasivelobularbreastcancerpresentingclinicallywithesophagealdysphagia
AT reubencuison metastaticinvasivelobularbreastcancerpresentingclinicallywithesophagealdysphagia