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Original study
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Ist Surgical Oncology Unit, Iasi Regional Cancer Institute, Romania; Department of Surgery,
”Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi, Romania
Abstract
Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has a very poor prognosis, considering the lack of reliable curative
medical or surgical approaches. Patients with stage IV breast cancer usually undergo palliative surgical
procedures and symptomatic treatment. In a 5-year period, 1258 patients with breast cancer were treated in
our surgical oncology unit. For the current study, we have selected 19 (1.43%) female patients with
intraabdominal metastases (peritoneal, hepatic, ovarian etc.) derived from breast cancer, which received at
least one surgical procedure in our unit. We compared our data with up-to-date reports and guidelines in order
to establish the role and further directions of surgery, and (most importantly) the necessity of surgery itself in
the management of this therapeutically disadvantaged patient-group. Even if current guidelines do not
recommend surgical treatment of intraabdominal metastases derived from breast cancer, several oncology
centers (including our unit) did not discard surgery, especially in patients with solitary metastasis.
Keywords: metastatic breast cancer, peritoneal metastases, liver metastases, ovarian metastases, unusual
origin metastases, cytoreductive surgery, HIPEC
Fig. 3. Peritoneal carcinomatosis (a) and ovarian metastasis (b) derived from breast cancer
Table 1. Surgical procedures performed in our unit for patients Stage IV breast cancer with intraabdominal
metastases
References