An atypical presentation of ovarian cancer

Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis from Ovarian Carcinoma: A Systematic Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Axillary lymph node metastasis is a rare stage IV ovarian carcinoma manifestation. This manuscript aims to systematically review the literature regarding axillary lymph node metastasis from ovarian carcinoma.

METHODS

We searched three medical internet databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) for relevant articles published until 22 July 2023. Cases describing supraclavicular or intramammary lymph node metastases and concurrent metastasis to the breast were excluded.

RESULTS

After applying eligibility/inclusion and exclusion criteria, twenty-one manuscripts describing twenty-five cases were included from the English literature. Data were collected and analyzed regarding demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, histopathological, and oncological characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

We analyzed the clinical and oncological characteristics of patients with axillary lymph node metastasis from ovarian carcinoma, presented either as an initial diagnosis of the disease or as a recurrent disease. The analysis we performed showed a significant difference only in the serum CA-125 level (p = 0.004) between the two groups. There was no observed difference in womens' survival.

Rare Distant Metastatic Disease of Ovarian and Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: A Review of the Literature

Background: Although metastases of ovarian and peritoneal carcinomatosis are most commonly found within the peritoneal cavity, there is a number of other rare distant sites that have been reported. Our goal is to provide an evidence-based summary of the available literature considering the rare distant metastatic sites of ovarian and peritoneal carcinomatosis. Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted, with Medline/PubMed being searched for cases of rare metastatic disease originated from primary ovarian and peritoneal cancer with related articles up to 2019 including terms such as "ovarian cancer", "metastases", "peritoneal" and others. Results: The most common mechanism of ovarian cancer metastases consists of primarily dissemination within the peritoneal cavity, while, rare and distant sites can either occur at the beginning or during the course of the disease and they are usually associated with hematogenous route and lymphatic invasion, having poor prognosis, with the least common sites being skin, bone, CNS, eye, placenta, central airways, rare lymph nodes, intra-abdominal organs, heart and breast. Conclusions: The occurrence of metastatic sites described in this review represents the most common rare distant metastatic sites, and even though their patterns of metastases are still not fully clarified due to the rarity of the reports, they offer valuable information considering the pathophysiology of the disease.