Published online Apr 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i14.4408
Peer-review started: October 27, 2014
First decision: November 26, 2014
Revised: December 10, 2014
Accepted: January 8, 2015
Article in press: January 8, 2015
Published online: April 14, 2015
Breast cancer can metastasize to other organs following initial treatment. Bones, liver, and the lung are the most common sites of breast cancer metastases. The digestive tract, on the other hand, is rarely involved. The incidence of mesorectal metastasis (a special category of rectal metastases) from breast cancer has not been described before. The case reported herein concerns a 68-year-old woman who underwent mastectomy. A pelvic mass with no symptoms was subsequently identified by computed tomography in the patient. We ultimately confirmed that this mass was a metastasis from breast cancer located in the mesorectum using surgical exploration and pathology results.
Core tip: Breast cancer is the most frequent tumor in women and can metastasize to other organs following operation. The incidence of mesorectal metastasis, a special category of rectal metastases, from breast cancer has not been described before. In contrast to the rectal metastasis described in previous case reports, the lack of visible clinical symptoms makes mesorectal metastasis more difficult to be discovered and diagnosed. The radiographic and pathologic characteristics of mesorectal metastasis from breast cancer shown in this paper have not been described before.