Metastatic breast carcinoma presenting as obstructive jaundice.

A case of obstructive jaundice due to extrahepatic intraductal biliary metastasis from a breast carcinoma is reported. This clinical picture was a late manifestation and the first evidence of spread of the disease. The patient was treated by surgical decompression with relief of jaundice but died 5 months later. In patients with a history of carcinoma of the breast, the possibility of extrahepatic biliary metastasis should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of jaundice. Because this condition is amenable to palliation, it is important to differentiate it from jaundice due to hepatic involvement by this tumor.