Breast Cancer Advice Center

Has anyone experienced metastatic breast cancer to the eye or known someone who has?

If so, what was the course of treatment and where were the treatments given. Thanks. Peter

Public Comments

1. I hadn't, but knowing anything is possible, I did a MedScape search. Radiation therapy seems to be the treatment of choice. Here's the article:
   
   Clinical study on the metastasis to the eyes from breast cancer.
   
   Breast Cancer. 2004; 11(1):65-8 (ISSN: 1340-6868)
   Tamura M; Tada T; Tsuji H; Tamura M; Yoshimoto M; Takahashi K; Tada K; Tanabe M; Kutomi G; Sekine Y; Kasumi F
   Department of Breast Surgery, Cancer Institute Hospital, 1-37-1 Kami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-8455, Japan.
   
   In our hospital, 24 patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer during 1980 to 2001 were diagnosed with metastasis to the eye. Metastasis to the choroid was found most frequently, making the choroid the most common site of metastasis. A few patients had metastasis to the orbit. Decreased visual acuity and tunnel vision were frequently found in patients who had metastasis to the choroid, and ocular floaters and blurred vision were also found in a few patients. Patients with metastasis to the orbit showed diplopia caused by ocular dyskinesia and eyelid swelling. The mean postoperative period until the diagnosis with metastasis to the eye was 3 years and 2 months, with most cases diagnosed between 20 and 40 months postoperatively, a relatively long period. We performed radiotherapy in 21 of the 24 patients, and more than half of the patients showed improvement. The mean survival period after diagnosis with metastasis to the eye was 10 months, and some of them already had recurrence to other organs such as the bones or lungs. Examination with consideration of metastasis to the eyes is required to improve the quality of life of cancer patients,.
   
   Subject Headings
   Major Subject Heading(s) Minor Subject Heading(s) CAS Registry / EC Numbers
   Breast Neoplasms [pathology]
   Contrast Media [pharmacology]
   Eye Neoplasms [diagnosis] [radiotherapy] [secondary]
   Female
   Fluorescein [diagnostic use]
   Humans
   Physical Examination [methods]
   0 (Contrast Media)
   2321-07-5 (Fluorescein)
   
   
   PreMedline Identifier: 14763463
2. It all depends on original characteristics of the cancer, the organs it has spread to and the degree of involvement in those organs. Radiation can be used for things like bone and brain metastases, but there are lots of different kinds of chemo so sometimes the patient goes on a series of chemos. There are also monoclonal antibodies (Herceptin -given by infusion but not chemo) and various pills.
   
   Usually these treatments are given at major medical centres but not necessarily.
   
   www.breastcancer.org is a great site with lots of information on the site and in the discussion groups there.