Published online Aug 15, 2023. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i8.1332
Peer-review started: March 14, 2023
First decision: May 16, 2023
Revised: June 1, 2023
Accepted: July 5, 2023
Article in press: July 5, 2023
Published online: August 15, 2023
Processing time: 149 Days and 11.6 Hours
Breast cancer can infrequently metastasize to the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract but the exact incidence is not well established-there is considerable variation between incidence reported from clinical studies and incidence noted in autopsy series. Clinical presentation can be very non-specific and often mimics primary gastrointestinal conditions. Endoscopy alone may not be sufficient to make a diagnosis and misdiagnosis is also common. A high degree of awareness and clinical suspicion is required to establish metastases to the upper GI tract. We undertook a comprehensive review of the available literature on breast cancer metastases to the esophagus and stomach including the clinical symptoms and presentation, endoscopic features, additional diagnostic imaging modalities, treatment and outcomes.
Core Tip: Diagnosis if breast cancer metastasizing to the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract requires a high index of suspicion and muti-modal approach to establish the diagnosis. GI symptoms are often non-specific and endoscopic findings can be subtle. We performed a comprehensive review of the available literature on this topic.