Diagnosis: Orbital (intraorbital and extraocular) metastases in breast cancer.
MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS
Routine hematoxylin-eosin staining of the biopsy specimen showed skin infiltrated by single carcinoma cells, some arranged in single file. There was an increase in stromal mucin. The tumor cells stained strongly positive for estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, as had the primary breast cancer biopsy specimen obtained 23 months earlier.
DISCUSSION
Breast cancer is the most common malignant disease among females in Western countries. Frequent, well-known sites for metastases of breast cancer are the liver, bone, lungs, skin, and brain. Intraorbital metastases are very common, with an incidence of up to 30% in patients with cancer.1 It remains a rarely diagnosed clinical condition, often because of minimal clinical signs. If patients with breast cancer complain of ophthalmologic symptoms such as local pain, impaired vision, and diplopia, it is important to consider orbital metastases.
The differential diagnosis of orbital lesions is extensive. In a large series of 1264 patients referred to an . . . [Full Text of this Article]