Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2023; 11(31): 7718-7723
Published online Nov 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i31.7718
Isolated axillary tumor deposit consistent with primary breast carcinoma: A case report
Tian Li, Wei-Hong Zhang, Juan Liu, Yi-Ling Mao, Sheng Liu
Tian Li, Wei-Hong Zhang, Department of Breast Surgery, Shanghai Baoshan Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai 201900, China
Juan Liu, Department of Pathology, Shanghai Baoshan Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai 201900, China
Yi-Ling Mao, Department of Radiology, Shanghai Baoshan Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai 201900, China
Sheng Liu, Graduate School, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
Co-first authors: Tian Li and Wei-Hong Zhang.
Author contributions: Li T responsible for paper writing and data organization; Zhang WH responsible for the design of the paper, literature review; Mao YL responsible for organizing imaging data; Liu J responsible for collection and imaging of pathological data; Liu S responsible for the designing of the overall structure of the article, providing ideas, and revising the article.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no financial or personal interests that could be perceived as influencing the research findings or biasing the interpretation.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sheng Liu, Doctor, PhD, Chief Doctor, Graduate School, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 725 South Wanping Road, Shanghai 201203, China. lshtcm@163.com
Received: September 11, 2023
Peer-review started: September 11, 2023
First decision: September 28, 2023
Revised: October 8, 2023
Accepted: October 16, 2023
Article in press: October 16, 2023
Published online: November 6, 2023
Processing time: 55 Days and 17.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

We all know that lymph-node metastasis is an important factor for poor clinical outcome in breast cancer prognosis. Tumor deposit refers to a discrete collection of cancer cells that is found in the lymph nodes or other tissues adjacent to the primary tumor site. These tumor deposits are separate from the primary tumor and are often considered as a manifestation of lymph node metastasis. In gastric and colorectal cancer, tumor deposits in the lymph node drainage area have been included as independent prognostic factors. The question arises whether tumor deposits should also be considered as prognostic factors in breast cancer patients. This article aims to provoke some thoughts on this matter through a case study and literature review.

CASE SUMMARY

A 70-year-old female patient was found to have a right breast lump for over 2 years. On January 3, 2023, a core needle biopsy of the right breast lump was performed, and the pathology report indicated invasive carcinoma. Subsequently, on January 17, 2023, the patient underwent right breast-conserving surgery, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and right axillary lymph node dissection. The postoperative pathological staging was determined as stage IIB. The patient received chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy. At present, nearly one year after the surgery, no obvious signs of metastasis have been observed in the follow-up examinations, but the long-term prognosis is still unknown.

CONCLUSION

There is a need for increased focus on the matter of tumor deposits in the lymph node drainage region, as well as a requirement for further clinical investigation to ascertain the relevance of tumor deposits in the prognosis of individuals with breast carcinoma.

Keywords: Tumor deposit; Breast cancer; Axillary; Case report

Core Tip: Further investigation is warranted to ascertain the potential underestimation of breast cancer patients' prognosis for survival in the absence of tumor deposits. Additional research is necessary to elucidate the influence of tumor deposits on the survival prognosis of breast cancer patients. The inclusion of tumor deposits in the tumor-node-metastasis staging of the axillary lymph node drainage area necessitates further exploration.