Secondary deposits in the breast

PRIMARY malignant disease of the breast in this country accounts for about 20 % of all deaths from malignant disease in women (Registrar General, 1963). The vast majority of malignant tumours in the breast are primary growths but secondary dzposits may occur. The breast may become involved in the late stages of a generalised reticulosis. Trevithick (1903) described a case of reticulosis in a 13 year old girl who had deposits in both breasts. Haram (1937), Anderson and Roberts (1954), Sandison (1959), Stringer (1959) and other authors have described cases with deposits of reticulosarcoma, lymphosarcoma and lymphatic and monocytic leukaemia in the breast tissue. The breast may also be involved by metastases from a primary lesion in the opposite breast. Kilgore (1932), Leo (1930) and Geschickter (1945) found that about 7.5 % of women with cancer of the breast developed a cancer in the opposite breast. In these cases the growth in the second breast may have been either a new primary growth or a metastatic deposit from the other breast. True secondary deposits in the breast from malignant disease elsewhere are rare. The reported clinical cases of true secondary deposits in the breast are shown in Table I. In the last few years we have seen 8 cases of secondary deposits in the breast at this centre (Table II). In 7 of these the primary growth has been in the bronchus. Although widespread deposits are common in carcinoma of the bronchus, especially in anaplastic and oat cell types of growth, only one other case of secondary deposits in the breast has been reported (Sandison, 1959). All 8 cases were confirmed by drill biopsy of the breast tumour. Some of these cases have other interesting features.