Breast Cancer Mets to Colon?

kathysea · February 2010

Can breast cancer show up as mets in the colon? I've always heard it can travel to the bones, brain, lungs and liver but never to the colon.

Member_of_the_Club · February 2010

ILC can show up in funky places but IDC generally shows up where you listed.

TriciaK · February 2010

I think it can, but it would'nt be as common. The area's you list are the usual places for mets but not the only one's.

Tricia x

NativeMainer · February 2010

Mets can show up anywhere in the body. Most cancers tend to spread to certain places most often, but that doesn't rule out mets to other organs or parts of the body. Also, there is a higher risk of colon cancer--as a second cancer, not a met--in women with a history of breast cancer.

Anonymous · February 2010

my mom had bc (ILC) 23 years ago; she also had colon ca-----twice in the last 8 years---- with a family history of both bc and colon ca, they say she was just unlucky and got both cancers. My oncologist said there isn't a connection between the 2.; (ILC usually mets to the peritoneum and the uterus; IDC to bone, brain, liver or lung), yet my insurance company approved me for BRCA testing once they found out about my family history of colon ca (had denied it with only the bc history).

Anne

bygracealone · February 2010

My aunt, Mum's younger sister, had early stage BC dx at age 77 which recurred three years later in other breast. Six months later they found colon cancer which had spread to lungs, and liver. She died seven mos later the day after her 80th birthday in '04. Only other cancer in the family was a cousin, daughter of other aunt Mum's older sis, who died at age 46 after 10 yr battle with vaginal cancer. That was almost 20 yrs ago. Now me dx a yr ago stage IV from the start at age 65 mets throughout skeleton, some nodes, liver and lung (Faslodex wiped out lung mets).

Sandra

Leah_S · February 2010

From what I understand, a PET scan might not have shown the colon ca early enough. A colonoscopy probably would have, but how can we second-guess everything we do?

Since we've had BC, we're more likely to get colon ca - they are somehow linked.

Leah

Anonymous · February 2010

This is very interesting. My mom is a bc survivor of over 23 years without a recurrence (ILC), but she has had colon cancer twice in the last 8 years. Her doctors told her there was no connection, she was just unlucky and got 2 different cancers (we have family history of both bc and colon ca). My oncologist also told me there is no connection between the 2, yet my insurance company who initially denied approval for genetic testing, changed there mind and approved it once they were told of my family history of colon ca.

Anne

mymountain · February 2010

Kathy,

This study is quite small and a few years old, but thought it would provide some info.

MM

Metastatic Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast

Patterns of Spread in the Chest, Abdomen, and Pelvis on CT

Corinne B. Winston¹, Orna Hadar², Jerrold B. Teitcher¹, James F. Caravelli³, Nancy T. Sklarin⁴, David M. Panicek³ and Laura Liberman³

^¹ Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Medical College, Office #862, 160 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022.
^² Pro Health Radiology, 2800 Marcus Ave., Lake Success, NY 11042.
^³ Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10021.
^⁴ Breast Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 205 E. 64th St., New York, NY 10021.

OBJECTIVE. We determined the pattern of spread of metastaticlobular carcinoma in the chest, abdomen, and pelvis on CT.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. We identified 57 women (age range, 30-79 years;mean age, 57 years) with metastatic lobular carcinoma of thebreast who underwent CT of the chest, abdomen, or pelvis between1995 and 1998. Then two experienced oncology radiologists retrospectivelyreviewed 78 CT examinations of those patients to identify sitesof metastatic disease and to identify complications caused bymetastases.

RESULTS. Metastases were identified in bone in 46 patients (81%), lymphnodes in 27 patients (47%), lung in 19 patients (33%), liverin 18 patients (32%), peritoneum in 17 patients (30%), colonin 15 patients (26%), pleura in 13 patients (23%), adnexa in12 patients (21%), stomach in nine patients (16%), retroperitoneumin nine patients (16%), and small bowel in six patients (11%).Eighteen patients (32%) had gastrointestinal tract involvement thatmanifested as bowel wall thickening. Hydronephrosis was presentin six patients (11%).

CONCLUSION. Although lobular carcinoma metastasized to common metastaticsites of infiltrating ductal carcinoma, lobular carcinoma frequentlymetastasized to unusual sites, including the gastrointestinal tract,peritoneum, and adnexa. Gastrointestinal tract involvement wasas frequent as liver involvement, appearing as bowel wall thickeningon CT. Hydronephrosis was a complication of metastatic lobularcarcinoma.

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Breast Cancer Mets to Colon?

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