THREE CASES OF ORBITAL METASTASIS FROM BREAST CANCER

Abstract

We report three cases of orbital metastasis from breast cancer. One of these three patients experienced orbital metastasis from breast cancer as the initial metastasis, and a removal of a tumor resulted in most serious outcomes in terms of the quality of life, including blindness and keratitis e lagophthalmos. The remaining two patients were capable of being diagnosed early, and immediate radiotherapy for their tumors provided dramatic symptomatic remission and long-term prevention of recurrence of symptoms.
Orbital metastasis has been considered to be one of multiple metastases which develops during follow-up period of the patient with breast cancer, and to have a poor prognosis. However, our analysis of a total of 27 domestic cases, including our case, has suggested that the orbital metastasis can occur in an early stage of breast cancer in many cases and that radiotherapy might be most useful for it. In recent years patients with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer can expect to live a long time with a recent progression in chemoendocrine therapy. Accordingly it is very important to diagnose and treat this disease early that may cause such a serious outcome as blindness which threatens the patient's QOL.