MANIFESTATIONS OF METASTATIC BREAST-CARCINOMA TO THE HEAD AND NECK

Although metastatic neoplasms in the head and neck are rare compared t o primary head and neck neoplasms, metastatic breast carcinoma has bee n described at numerous sites in the head and neck region. Two cases o f breast carcinoma metastatic to sites in the head and neck are report ed. In one case a laryngeal metastasis represented the first manifesta tion of recurrent breast cancer. The second case, a nasal metastasis, was unsuspected and was treated as cellulitis. The presentation of met astatic breast carcinoma to the head and neck may in fact be atypical, posing a diagnostic dilemma. These cases illustrate the importance of past medical history and the high index of suspicion in patients with a history of prior malignancy.