Ovarian metastasis from breast cancer in three Chinese females: Three case reports

RATIONALE: The biological behavior and clinical features of ovarian metastasis from breast cancer remain unclear; diagnosis and treatment of this condition are challenging. PATIENT CONCERNS: We reported three cases of ovarian metastasis from breast cancer in Chinese women aged 44, 46, and 30 years. The prognosis was different in all three patients; however, no symptoms of ovarian metastasis were observed. DIAGNOSIS: All three premenopausal patients were diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and two of them had axillary lymph node metastasis. All three women had multiple extra-ovarian metastases when ovarian metastasis was detected. INTERVENTIONS: All patients received systemic antitumor therapy and underwent bilateral ovariectomy. OUTCOMES: Patient 1 had stable bone metastasis; patient 2 had stable lung metastasis and died of heart disease, and patient 3 had multiple brain metastases, which suggested poor outcomes. LESSONS: It is important to screen for ovarian metastasis from breast cancer when evaluating suspicious ovarian masses detected via transvaginal ultrasound in patients with a breast cancer history. Therefore, we recommend simple laparoscopic bilateral oophorectomy not only for pathological diagnosis but also for metastatic tumor removal and therapeutic castration. In such cases, systemic therapy is essential because ovarian metastasis is often a component of systemic metastatic disease.