Solitary esophageal metastasis of breast cancer with 15 years' latency: a case report and review of the literature.

A 68-year-old woman with a history of breast and colon cancer at the ages of 48 and 65 years, respectively, who presented with dysphagia is described. An upper gastrointestinal series and endoscopic examination revealed a circumferential stricture without ulceration in the middle-third area of the esophagus. Computed tomography demonstrated a submucosal tumor in the esophageal wall. A biopsy specimen obtained from the mucosa overlying the tumor revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, suggesting metastasis from the previous breast cancer. Subtotal esophagectomy with reconstruction was performed. Macroscopically, a submucosal tumor measuring 2.0 x 1.7 cm was observed in the resected esophagus. Microscopic examination revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, which was quite similar histologically to the breast cancer resected 15 years previously. Enzyme immunoassay and immunohistochemical analyses of the resected tumor revealed positivity for both estrogen and progesterone receptor, confirming the diagnosis of a metastatic cancer from the previous breast tumor.