Zygomatic metastasis from breast cancer

J Craniofac Surg. 2010 Nov;21(6):2012-4. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0b013e3181f538b4.

Abstract

Breast cancer continues to be the second most common cancer among women, after nonmelanoma skin cancer; in the United States, there is an average lifetime risk of 11% for developing a breast malignancy. Metastatic tumors from distant primary foci to the maxillofacial (MF) region are reported to account for only 1% of all MF malignancies, usually with grave prognosis. In the MF region, the bones more frequently involved in metastasis are the mandible, maxilla, temporal bone, frontal bone, and malar bone; the soft tissues more affected are gingiva, parotid gland, tongue, submandibular gland, and cheek. We describe a unique case of a solitary mass found in the body of the right zygoma, revealing a metastasis from breast cancer. According to the literature, the zygomatic complex is a very unusual site for metastasis; we found only 4 cases of metastatic localization from lung, rectum, liver, and uterine cancer. In MF region, oral and nasal cavity has been described as atypical sites of metastasis from breast cancer; this is to our knowledge the first recorded instance of malar metastasis from breast cancer.

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Bone Neoplasms / secondary
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / secondary*
  • Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Ilium / pathology
  • Liver Neoplasms / secondary
  • Lymph Node Excision
  • Mastectomy, Radical
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoadjuvant Therapy
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Skull Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Zygoma / pathology*