Clinical cases
INVASIVE LOBULAR BREAST CANCER WITH “EN CUIRASSE” CUTANEOUS METASTASES - CASE REPORT

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer that affects women. In Romania, the incidence has grown from 25/100.000 women in 1988 to 50,56/100.000 women in 2006.
In women, the most frequent type of cancer known to determine skin metastasis is breast cancer, it’s incidence being almost 20% higher than any other type of cancer.

Case report: We present the case of a 58 years old female patient diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. She was admitted into our clinic in June 2015 with erythematoinfiltrative, sclerous placards, with papules on the surface, accompanied by burn-like pain and functional impotence, localized in the cervical and trunk area, progressing towards the abdominal wall. Based on the clinical aspects and the histopathological exam, she was diagnosed with „en cuirasse” cutaneous metastases of a lobular breast carcinoma. The patient was discharged from our clinic and guided to the Oncology Clinic, where she received hormonal therapy (Anastrozole). Her evolution was partially favorable.

Discussions: Worldwide, breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer to affect women. It is the second cause of death, after pulmonary cancer, in developed countries and the first cause of death in less developed countries.
The histopathological types of breast carcinoma: infiltrative ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, mucinous carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, inflammatory carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, metaplastic carcinoma and mammary Paget disease. Invasive lobular carcinoma represents 15% of all breast cancers and it’s the second most frequent histopathological type of carcinoma. It usually presents estrogen receptors.

Conclusions: The main type of cancer known to metastasise in women is breast cancer. Cutaneous metastases present under various forms. Knowing the exact appearances of these forms can facilitate the fast diagnosis of the primary tumor.