Adelnia Parisa, Heidarpour Mitra
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Iran J Pathol. 2025 Summer;20(3):326-329. doi: 10.30699/ijp.2025.2049764.3396. Epub 2025 Jul 1.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Tumor-to-tumor metastasis is a rare phenomenon in which one primary tumor metastasizes into another histologically distinct tumor. This report presents a unique case of breast carcinoma metastasizing to a pheochromocytoma, posing significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.
A 71-year-old woman with a history of breast carcinoma-status post mastectomy 7 years prior-presented with elevated levels of cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), raising suspicion of disease recurrence or metastasis. Imaging studies revealed a mass in the adrenal gland. Surgical excision of the adrenal lesion was performed, and subsequent histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses confirmed the coexistence of two distinct tumor components: primary pheochromocytoma and metastatic breast carcinoma.
Although tumor-to-tumor metastasis is exceedingly rare, awareness of this entity is crucial for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment planning. This case underscores the importance of considering prior malignancies in the differential diagnosis of new adrenal masses and highlights the complexities involved in managing a hormone-secreting neoplasm concurrently harboring metastatic disease.
肿瘤间转移是一种罕见现象，即一种原发性肿瘤转移至另一种组织学类型不同的肿瘤。本报告呈现了一例乳腺癌转移至嗜铬细胞瘤的独特病例，带来了重大的诊断和治疗挑战。
一名71岁女性，7年前有乳腺癌病史且已行乳房切除术，此次因癌抗原15-3（CA15-3）水平升高就诊，怀疑疾病复发或转移。影像学检查发现肾上腺有一肿块。对肾上腺病变进行了手术切除，随后的组织病理学和免疫组化分析证实存在两种不同的肿瘤成分：原发性嗜铬细胞瘤和转移性乳腺癌。
尽管肿瘤间转移极为罕见，但认识这一实体对于准确诊断和有效治疗规划至关重要。该病例强调了在新发肾上腺肿块的鉴别诊断中考虑既往恶性肿瘤的重要性，并突出了同时处理伴有转移性疾病的激素分泌性肿瘤所涉及的复杂性。
