Massive anterior chest wall metastasis of ovarian cancer and prolonged survival after treatment - A case report

BACKGROUND: Although previously uncommon, distant metastases of ovarian cancer are now observed with increasing frequency. Late-appearing metastases to the chest wall, however, are extremely rare; management is controversial and the prognosis is poor. CASE: A 51-year-old woman presented with a massive metastatic tumor of the anterior chest wall 10 years after receiving total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for primary ovarian cancer. The extremely large size of the tumor precluded surgical resection. Following successful chemotherapy and local irradiation, however, this patient has achieved long-term survival. CONCLUSION: This report is the first to describe a case of a massive, inoperable chest wall tumor developing as a late metastasis of ovarian cancer. Systemic chemotherapy combined with local irradiation represents effective treatment for such unusual cases.