Occult primary breast cancer presenting with brachial plexopathy: A case report

SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2021 Jun 28:9:2050313X20985646. doi: 10.1177/2050313X20985646. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Breast cancer affects about one in eight women over the course of her lifetime. Occult breast cancer, in which primary breast cancer is detected without evidence of disease in the breast itself, comprises up to 1% of new diagnoses; this is typically detected from abnormal axillary lymph nodes, and distant metastases are rare. Here, we present an unusual case of occult breast cancer presenting as upper extremity pain, edema, and weakness, with a metastatic mass to the brachial plexus being the only site of disease.

Keywords: Occult breast cancer; brachial plexus tumor.

Publication types

  • Case Reports