Goh and Dauway — Synchronous Contralateral Axillary Metastasis
Verified verbatim
The lymphatic drainage of the breast most commonly goes to the ipsilateral axilla and internal mammary glands; less common drainage patterns are to retromammary, cervical nodes, peritoneal cavity and contralateral breast/axilla. However, disruption of common lymphatic drainage may alter the drainage pattern by creating collateral flow to the contralateral axilla. This may be secondary to malignant involvement of the lymphatic channels, previous breast or axillary surgery, and adjuvant radiotherapy.
Also notes CAM (contralateral axillary metastasis) incidence of 1.9–6%, and that it is currently classified as stage IV (M1) disease, though the authors argue it may be better considered locoregional (N3) when aberrant lymphatic flow rather than haematogenous spread is the likely mechanism.
My take
Closely mirrors our case’s structure (surgical clearance history → contralateral drainage). Good template for how to argue the staging/mechanism implications section.
Related
- CAM in Breast Cancer - IJSCR Case Report (Link Only) — separate case, different incidence figure quoted, no PDF to verify
- Theme - Contralateral and Aberrant Lymphatic Drainage
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