A Case Report of Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of Breast with Multiple Gastrointestinal and Cutaneous Metastases

Abstract

Background: The metastasis of primary breast invasive lobular carcinoma to the gastrointestinal tract and skin is a rare phenomenon, with the simultaneous occurrence of both transfers being more uncommon.

Case presentation: This article reports a case of a patient with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast invasive lobular carcinoma with gastrointestinal tract and skin metastases. The patient was assessed by a second-look ultrasound and diagnosed by subsequent ultrasound-guided needle biopsy. Following endocrine therapy, a favorable effect was observed, with significant regression of the primary breast lesion, cutaneous metastases, and gastrointestinal metastases.

Conclusion: Patients with breast invasive lobular carcinoma should be alert to the possibility of breast cancer metastasis, even if there are no obvious symptoms or signs, when they encounter rapidly progressive cutaneous nodules or plaques, or if they possess gastrointestinal abnormalities. For patients with negative breast ultrasonography for the first time, after combining mammography, Contrast-enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM) or Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) examinations, if breast cancer is highly suspected, second-look ultrasound is particularly crucial at this juncture, which is the key prerequisite for breast needle biopsy and obtaining the gold standard of pathology.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Breast ultrasonography.; Cutaneous; Gastrointestinal; Invasive lobular carcinoma; Metastasis.