Breast metastasis from vulvar carcinoma: Case report and review of literature

The breast metastases resulting of vulvar carcinoma are very rare, and represent exceptionally the first manifestation of the disease. We report the case of a 42 year-old patient who underwent a treatment because of vulvar epidermoid carcinoma, right away metastatic at the level of the inguinal ganglia. The treatment consisted in a total vulvectomy with bilateral ganglial curretage, followed by external radiotherapy about the perineum and the inguinal ganglia. Three months after the end of her treatment, the patient presented with a nodula on the left outer breast with features of malignancy noticed by clinic and mammographic examination. The histologic study of the mammary biopsy showed epidermoid carcinoma of likely metastatic origin. A left Patey has been realized and confirmed the metastatic localization of epidermoid carcinoma with axillary ganglial metastasis (2N +/- 7). Besides, this patient presented a right cervical ganglial parcel that the biopsy showed a metastatic localization of a vulvar carcinoma. A palliative chemotherapy type cyclophosphamid, adriblastin, cisplatine (CAP) has been admistrated during three cycles spaced out three weeks. The patient died 11 months after the supervene of the cerebral metastasis. We present this case because its rarety and to show the possibility of metastasis at the level of breast due to vulvar cancer. The clinicians must remember this possible tropism of the vulvar cancer for the breast, not only during the supervision and the complete examination as regards the disease spreading but also when the affection revealed unknown primary tumor. The diagnostic orientation is based on the mammography and the mammary biopsy. In this stage, the treatment is unfortunately palliative, the survival until a year is not more than 20%. (C) 2008 Publie par Elsevier Masson SAS.