Long-term outcomes and predictors of recurrence in node-negative early stage breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the outcomes, and risk factors for recurrence in patients with early stage node-negative breast cancer in this study. METHOD: Retrospective data analysis was done on patient treatment records from 1988 to 2018. The patient's demographic, clinical, pathological, and therapeutic characteristics were noted. To evaluate survival analysis and predictors of recurrence, we employed Kaplan-Meier analysis with the log-rank test. RESULTS: A total of 357 patients in all were enrolled in the research. At the time of diagnosis, the median age was 50 (with a range of 18-81). A total of 85.5% of patients had undergone a lumpectomy, while 14.5% had a mastectomy. 78.7% of patients had sentinel lymph node biopsy, and 21.3% had axillary lymph node dissection. In addition, the patients received adjuvant radiotherapy (88.7%), adjuvant endocrine therapy (82.1%), and adjuvant chemotherapy (48.5%). Recurrence of the tumor occurred in 31 (8.7%) patients (local recurrence 45.2% and metastatic disease 54.8%). Ten- and twenty-year recurrence-free survival rates were 92% and 77%. 19 (5.3%) patients had also developed contralateral breast cancer. Ten-year survival rates were 91.6%, and 20-year survival rates were 76.6%, respectively. Aged over 65 years (p = 0.004), necrosis (p = 0.002), mitosis (p = 0.003), and nuclear pleomorphism (p = 0.049) were found as statistically significant factors for recurrence in univariate analysis. In the ROC analysis, the largest size of the tumor (over 1.45 cm, p = 0.07) remained outside the statistical significance limit in terms of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty-year outcomes in individuals with early stage, node-negative breast cancer were shown in this study. We found that the recurrence ratios between 10 and 20 years were more frequent than the first 10 years during the follow-up. Despite the small number of patients who experienced a recurrence, we demonstrated that, in univariate analysis, being older than 65 and having some pathological characteristics (nuclear pleomorphism, mitosis, and necrosis) were statistically significant factors for disease recurrence.

Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Who Had Developed Brain Metastasis in the Treatment Process.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer are at risk for developing brain metastases. Different anti-HER2 treatments can be used in the management of the disease. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prognosis and the factors affecting the prognosis in brain metastatic patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. METHODS: Clinical and pathological features of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients and magnetic resonance imaging features at the onset of brain metastasis were recorded. Survival analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods. RESULTS: Analyses of the study were performed by including 83 patients. The median age was 49 (25-76). All patients had HER2 receptor-positive tumors. Thirty-five (42.2%) patients had a hormone-positive disease. Thirty-two (38.6%) patients had de novo metastatic disease. Brain metastasis sites were found to be bilateral - 49.4%, right brain - 21.7%, left brain - 12%, and unknown - 16.9%, respectively. The median brain metastasis largest size was 16 mm (range 5-63). The median follow-up time from the post-metastasis period was 36 months. Median overall survival (OS) was found as 34.9 months (95% CI, 24.6-45.2). In multivariate analysis for factors affecting OS, estrogen receptor status (p = 0.025), number of chemotherapy agents used with trastuzumab (p = 0.010), number of HER2-based therapy (p = 0.010), and the largest size of brain metastasis (p = 0.012) were found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we demonstrated the prognosis in brain metastatic patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. When the factors affecting the prognosis were evaluated, we determined that the largest size of brain metastasis, estrogen receptor positivity, and the use of TDM-1 and lapatinib plus capecitabine consecutively during the treatment process affected the prognosis of the disease.

Oncological outcomes for encapsulated papillary carcinoma of the breast: Multicentric study of Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology breast cancer study group (TROD 06-014 study).

BACKGROUND: Encapsulated papillary carcinoma (EPC) is a rare malignant papillary breast cancer accounting for approximately .5%-2% of all breast tumors. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate clinicopathologic features of EPC in addition to oncological outcomes and radiotherapy (RT) details. METHODS: From 10 different academic hospitals in Turkey, we obtained pathology reports of 80 patients with histologically confirmed EPC between 2005 and 2022. Demographic, diagnostic, and treatment data were collected from medical records, retrospectively. Local failure, distant progression, toxicity-adverse effects, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival were evaluated, and survival analyzes were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Eighty patients with the diagnosis of misspelled sorry (ECP) were retrospectively evaluated. The median age of the patients was 63 (range, 35-85). After a median follow-up of 48 (range; 6-206) months, local recurrence was observed in three patients (4%). Local recurrence was less common in the patients who received whole breast RT with a tumour bed boost (p = .025). There were not any distant metastasis or disease-related death. RT was applied to 61% of the cases, and no treatment-related grade 3 or higher toxicity was reported in any of the patients. Five year OS, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and  were observed as 85%, 100%, and 96%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ECP is a rare, slow-progressing breast carcinoma associated with good prognosis, it is a disease of elderly patient, and usually occurs in postmenopausal women. It responds extremely well to optimal local treatments and appropriate adjuvant treatments on a patient basis, and has excellent OS and CSS ratios.

Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors in patients with male breast cancer: A single tertiary center experience.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to assess the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic variables in men with breast cancer (BC). METHODS: Clinical features, pathological characteristics, stage at diagnosis, and therapy data were noted. Survival analysis was performed using the log-rank technique and Cox regression model. RESULTS: Eighty patients were included in the study. In 31% of the individuals, BRCA (BReast CAncer genes 1 and 2) mutations were identified. The estrogen receptor (ER) positivity ratio was 93.6%, whereas the progesterone receptor (PR) positivity ratio was 74.4%. In 16.9% of the cases, HER2 overexpression was found. The median survival time was 120.9 months (70.3-171.5), and the five-year overall survival (OS) ratio was 74.9%. In univariate analysis, BRCA mutation status had no effect on OS (P = 0.50). CA15-3 levels (P = 0.03) at diagnosis and history of smoking (P = 0.03) were significantly linked with OS. However, the multivariate analysis could not confirm these results. CONCLUSIONS: We found that BRCA mutation, body mass index, a history of smoking, and alcohol consumption did not affect the OS in this research.

The effect of using virtual bolus on VMAT plan quality for left-sided breast cancer patients.

In breast cancer radiotherapy treatment with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), the respiratory motion may lead to underdosing of the target and overdosing of critical organs such as the heart and lungs. This study aims to investigate the effect of using Virtual Bolus with different thicknesses on VMAT plan quality for patients with 20 advanced left-sided breast cancers. The result of the study showed that using Virtual Bolus for VMAT treatment planning is a viable method to avoid any missing target coverage.

Prognostic Implications of Immune Infiltrates in the Breast Cancer Microenvironment: The Role of Expressions of CTLA-4, PD-1, and LAG-3.

The assessment of immune infiltrate in invasive breast carcinomas (IBCs), most commonly referred to as tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), is gaining importance in the current quest for optimal biomarker selection and prediction of prognosis. In this study, the impact of intensity of TILs and expressions of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), and lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG-3) in a group of breast carcinomas with regards to the prognosis and conventional pathologic parameters was scrutinized. For this purpose, 238 patients with IBCs containing different proportions of TILs were included in the study. IBCs with higher proportion of TILs were usually grade III carcinomas and correlated with poor prognostic features like receptor negativity, nonluminal intrinsic subtype (P<0.001). Similarly, PD-1 and LAG-3 positivity in immune cells (IC) were more likely to be positive in grade III IBC cases (P=0.004). In addition, PD-1 positivity in IC was more frequent in estrogen receptor-negative tumors (P=0.011) whereas LAG-3 positivity increased in large sized, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor-negative tumors (P=0.050, 0.023, 0.04, respectively). CTLA-4 positivity in IC was more frequent in large-sized tumors (P=0.040). These 3 markers were also significantly associated with one another and also with the amount of TILs. In survival analysis, cases with prominent-TILs especially displaying CTLA-4, PD-1, and LAG-3 positivity appeared to have longer disease-free and overall survival (CTLA-4: P=0.027, P=0.024; PD-1: P=0.030, P=0.026; LAG-3: P=0.006, P=0.012, respectively). We conclude that the high proportion of TILs and as well as high expression of CTLA-4, PD-1, and LAG-3 in TILs have positively contributed to the outcome despite their correlation with poor conventional pathologic features. We suggest that these 3 immune markers can be used for the determination of proper treatment as well as prediction of prognosis in IBCs with TILs.

Factors that affect the presence of the entire liver incidentally detected by the simulation computed tomography and the detection of inferior border through anthropometric measurement in breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to evaluate the parameters that influence the incidental presence of whole liver detected by simulation computed tomography (simCT) while irradiation in breast cancer patients and to evaluate the factors predicting the presence of the liver in simCT scanning and defining the inferior border in simCT. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We analyzed simCT radiotherapy (RT) planning images of 327 patients with breast cancer. During the evaluation, whether the entire liver was included in the simCT scanning and the level of the vertebra where the inferior border of the simCT scan passed were investigated. Left (L) and right (R) lung, L and R breast, and heart volume were recorded so that they would reflect the internal volume of the thorax. From the simCT images, anteroposterior (A-P) distance at the jugular notch level, A-P and R-L lateral distances at manubriosternal joint alignment, A-P and R-L lateral distances at xiphisternal joint alignment were measured. The predictive value of these measurements and volumes on whether the liver was present in simCT were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: The liver was included in 72 (22%) out of 327 simCT scans. ROC analysis was applied to the whole group; bilateral lung volume (P < 0.001), bilateral lung + heart volume (P < 0.001), xiphisternal angle R-L lateral distance (P = 0.009), manubriosternal angle A-P distance (P = 0.49), R breast volume (P = 0.007), and L breast volume (P < 0.001) were associated with the visualization of liver. A total of 37 of 72 patients, whose inferior level of the simCT sections passed below L1, had entire liver visualization. The cutoff value of xiphisternal joint R-L lateral distance was found as 31.55 cm, and its sensitivity and specificity were calculated as 81%, and 60%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Through R-L lateral measurement taken from the midaxillary line at the level of the xiphisternal joint, we showed that liver would be present in simCT with a sensitivity of 81% at L1 level in those 31.55 cm and above.

Survival Impact of Optimal Surgical Cytoreduction in Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian Cancer with Brain Metastasis.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the clinicopathological characteristics, treatment details and outcome of patients with brain metastasis from epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). METHODS: This study included 21 patients diagnosed with brain metastasis from EOC between 1999 and 2009. RESULTS: Median age was 61 years (range 38-77). The median time elapsed from EOC diagnosis to brain metastasis detection was 32 months. Single brain metastases were found in 10 (48%) cases, and there was extra-cranial disease in 11 (52%) cases. During the mean 86 months of follow-up, 18 of the patients (86%) died of the disease and 3 (14%) were alive with disease. The median survival time after the initial diagnosis of brain metastasis was 9 months. The median overall survival (OS) from initial diagnosis of EOC was 50 months. In univariate analysis, prolonged time from initial diagnosis to central nervous system metastasis (more than 32 months) (p = 0.001), treatment with radiotherapy (p < 0.001), optimal cytoreductive operation (p = 0.02) were all positively correlated with OS. CONCLUSION: The prognosis of patients with brain metastasis from EOC is still poor. The significant predictors of survival in our series were whole brain radiotherapy, prolonged elapsed time from initial diagnosis to brain metastasis and optimal cytoreductive surgery.

Prognostic significance of carbonic anhydrase IX overexpression in stage III non-small cell lung cancer patients after neoadjuvant treatment.

BACKGROUND: To assess the prognostic importance of carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX), a hypoxic biomarker, after neoadjuvant treatment in Stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. METHODS: Tissue CA IX expression was examined after surgical resection in 77 patients who had undergone neoadjuvant treatment. The effects of CA IX overexpression and other clinical factors on disease-free survival and overall survival were investigated. RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) courses and gender emerged as significant independent predictors for disease-free survival, where administration of 2-3 courses of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CT) (HR, 3.2 [95% CI 1.3-7.6], p = 0.009) and female gender were associated with poor survival (HR, 3.2 [95% CI 1.3-7.7], p = 0.009). The only significant independent predictor for overall survival was recurrence (HR, 5.6 [95% CI 2.4-12.8], p < 0.001). On the other hand, CA IX overexpression was not associated with disease free survival (p = 0.560) or overall survival (p = 0.799). DISCUSSION: Our results do not suggest a prognostic role for CA IX overexpression in stage III NSCLC patients who received neoadjuvant treatment.

Comparison of Pathological Prognostic Stage and Anatomic Stage Groups According to the Updated Version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Breast Cancer Staging 8th Edition.

BACKGROUND We compared pathological prognostic stage (PPS) with anatomic stage (AS) groups according to the updated version of breast cancer staging of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th Edition. MATERIAL AND METHODS We evaluated 353 breast cancer patients initially treated with surgery. AS and PPS were performed by evaluating the pathological data of the patients according to the AJCC 8th Edition breast cancer updated version. Stages and survival rates between the 2 staging systems were evaluated and compared. Disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were calculated according to both staging systems using Kaplan-Meier test. After the PPS change was made in each AS group, 10-year DFS and 10-year DSS of the changed groups were compared using the chi-square test. RESULTS The median follow-up was 114 months and the median age was 48 years. In 192 (54.4%) patients the stage change. The most significant change was 1-level downstaging in 70 (22.4%) patients, and 2-levels downstaging in 78 (22.1%) patients. Five-year DFS, 10-year DFS, 5-year DSS rate, and 10-year DSS were 86.3%, 80.3%, 93.8%, and 84.1%, respectively. The PPS system was found to provide better prognostic information when the patients with AS IIB and IIIA groups were compared according to the PPS. CONCLUSIONS According to the updated version of the AJCC 8th Edition, half of our patients had stage change when they were evaluated according to AS and PPS system. PPS gives better information about prognosis than does AS.

Delayed versus immediate surgery following short-course neoadjuvant radiotherapy in resectable (T3N0/N+) rectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Preoperative short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) followed by surgery has shown advantage over surgery alone in patients with resectable rectal carcinoma (RC); however, the importance of the timing of surgery after SCRT has not been well defined. This study aimed to investigate the effect of this duration on treatment outcomes. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgery after SCRT (25 Gy/500 cGy/daily/5fr, monday-friday) for resectable and infraperitoneal rectal adenocarcinoma (T3N0/(+)) were included into the study. Patients were divided into two groups in terms of the timing of surgery: delayed surgery (>4 weeks) or immediate surgery (<4 weeks). RESULTS: A hundred and thirty-six patients were included in the study. Median time between RT and surgery was 4 ± 5.7 (1-58) weeks, where 68% (n = 93) patients underwent delayed surgery (≥4 weeks). The two groups did not differ in terms of surgical margin positivity, pathological tumor regression, N downstaging, or T downstaging (p > 0.05 for all). However, the number of positive lymph nodes was higher in the immediate surgery group [median 3 (0-18) vs. 1 (0-17), p = 0.009]. Median follow-up time was 36 ± 9 (6-93) months. Delayed surgery group had significantly longer mean overall survival (p = 0.038); however, the two groups did not differ in terms of local recurrence, mean time to local recurrence, or mean disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings seem to support the benefit of a longer time interval between radiotherapy and surgery after short-course neoadjuvant radiotherapy in resectable rectal cancer in terms of overall survival. However, there is a need to better define patient characteristics that might benefit from delayed surgery.

Angiosarcoma of common iliac vein.

Angiosarcoma is a rare malignant tumour of endothelial cells. Primary angiosarcoma of venous origin is extremely rare, and has a very poor prognosis. A 63-year-old woman with retroperitoneal mass underwent en bloc resection on a part of iliac vein followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. No recurrence was detected during 3 years of follow-up.

The clinical and pathological features of 133 colorectal cancer patients with brain metastasis: a multicenter retrospective analysis of the Gastrointestinal Tumors Working Committee of the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG).

Brain metastasis in colorectal cancer is highly rare. In the present study, we aimed to determine the frequency of brain metastasis in colorectal cancer patients and to establish prognostic characteristics of colorectal cancer patients with brain metastasis. In this cross-sectional study, the medical files of colorectal cancer patients with brain metastases who were definitely diagnosed by histopathologically were retrospectively reviewed. Brain metastasis was detected in 2.7 % (n = 133) of 4,864 colorectal cancer patients. The majority of cases were male (53 %), older than 65 years (59 %), with rectum cancer (56 %), a poorly differentiated tumor (70 %); had adenocarcinoma histology (97 %), and metachronous metastasis (86 %); received chemotherapy at least once for metastatic disease before brain metastasis developed (72 %), had progression with lung metastasis before (51 %), and 26 % (n = 31) of patients with extracranial disease at time the diagnosis of brain metastasis had both lung and bone metastases. The mean follow-up duration was 51 months (range 5-92), and the mean survival was 25.8 months (95 % CI 20.4-29.3). Overall survival rates were 81 % in the first year, 42.3 % in the third year, and 15.7 % in the fifth year. In multiple variable analysis, the most important independent risk factor for overall survival was determined as the presence of lung metastasis (HR 1.43, 95 % CI 1.27-4.14; P = 0.012). Brain metastasis develops late in the period of colorectal cancer and prognosis in these patients is poor. However, early screening of brain metastases in patients with lung metastasis may improve survival outcomes with new treatment modalities.

Carnitine or dimethyl sulfoxide, or both, for the treatment of anthracycline extravasation in rats.

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of topical dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), intralesional and systemic carnitine as monotherapy and in combination against ulceration in rats induced by intradermal doxorubicin extravasation. Sixty-nine 3-month-old male Wistar albino rats, weighing between 200-225 g, were used in this study. Rats were applied monotherapy or a combination of topical DMSO, intraperitoneal or intralesional carnitine. Control groups received saline or no drug. The necrotic area was measured and extravasated neutrophil leukocytes were counted in healthy tissue adjacent to necrotic areas. Monotherapy with topical and systemic carnitine did not significantly reduce the size of necrotic areas. However, topical DMSO had reduced necrotic areas and inflammatory cells significantly and the addition of systemic carnitine to topical DMSO had increased the efficacy. DMSO is an effective, safe, and easy-to-apply treatment for doxorubicin-induced extravasation. Further clinical studies are needed to evaluate the use of carnitine in combination with DMSO.

Radiation-induced chronic oxidative renal damage can be reduced by amifostine.

In the current study, amifostine is evaluated for its radioprotective role in serum and kidney tissue by oxidative (malondialdehyde-MDA, advanced oxidation protein product-AOPP) and antioxidative markers (catalase, glutathione-GSH, free-thiols-F-SH). Thirty Wistar albino 3-4 months old, female rats, were randomly divided into Group I (n = 10): Control, Group II (n = 10): Irradiation-alone, Group III (n = 10): Amifostine before irradiation. In Group II and III, right kidneys of the rats were irradiated with a single dose of 6 Gy using a 60Co treatment unit. Rats in Group III received 200 mg/kg amifostine intraperitoneally, 30 min prior to irradiation. Following sacrification at 24th week, blood and kidney tissue samples were collected. Statistical analysis was done by One-way ANOVA, Post hoc Bonferroni, Dunnett T3, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Administration of amifostine significantly decreased the serum AOPP and MDA levels when compared to the irradiation-only group (P = 0.004, P = 0.006; respectively). Also amifostine significantly increased serum catalase activities and GSH levels, when given 30 min prior to irradiation (P = 00.02, P = 0.000; respectively). In the kidney tissue, administration of amifostine significantly decreased AOPP and MDA levels (P = 0.002, P = 0.016; respectively). Tissue GSH activity was increased following amifostine administration (P = 0.001). There was no statistically significant result on histopathological evaluation. Amifostine may reduce radiation-induced nephropathy by inhibiting chronic oxidative stress. Biomarkers of oxidative stress in serum and kidney tissue may be used for evaluation of the radiation-induced nephropathy.

Postmastectomy irradiation in breast in breast cancer patients with T1-2 and 1-3 positive axillary lymph nodes: is there a role for radiation therapy?

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate retrospectively the correlation of loco-regional relapse (LRR) rate, distant metastasis (DM) rate, disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in a group of breast cancer (BC) patients who are at intermediate risk for LRR (T1-2 tumor and 1-3 positive axillary nodes) treated with or without postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) following modified radical mastectomy (MRM). METHODS: Ninety patients, with T1-T2 tumor, and 1-3 positive nodes who had undergone MRM received adjuvant systemic therapy with (n = 66) or without (n = 24) PMRT. Patient-related characteristics (age, menopausal status, pathological stage/tumor size, tumor location, histology, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, histological grade, nuclear grade, extracapsular extension, lymphatic, vascular and perineural invasion and ratio of involved nodes/dissected nodes) and treatment-related factors (PMRT, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy) were evaluated in terms of LRR and DM rate. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier DFS and OS rates were analysed. RESULTS: Differences between RT and no-RT groups were statistically significant for all comparisons in favor of RT group except OS: LRR rate (3% vs 17%, p = 0.038), DM rate (12% vs 42%, p = 0.004), 5 year DFS (82.4% vs 52.4%, p = 0.034), 5 year OS (90.2% vs 61.9%, p = 0.087). In multivariate analysis DM and lymphatic invasion were independent poor prognostic factors for OS. CONCLUSION: PMRT for T1-2, N1-3 positive BC patients has to be reconsidered according to the prognostic factors and the decision has to be made individually with the consideration of long-term morbidity and with the patient approval.

The better performance status, the better outcome: laryngeal carcinoma treated with definitive radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic factors affecting locoregional control (LRC) and overall survival (OS) of patients with laryngeal carcinoma who were not candidates for surgical treatment due to tumour or host factors but were treated with definitive radiotherapy (RT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-three consecutive patients, treated with definitive RT between 1999 and 2005, were retrospectively analyzed. All patients had histologically proven squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx. The median age was 62 years (range 43-83 years). Follow-up ranged from 22 days to 68 months (median 32 months). RESULTS: The LRC rates at 2 and 5 years were 70% and 48%. The 2- and 5-year OS rates were 65% and 40%. No statistically significant relationship was found between World Health Organization performance status score (WHO PS) and age (p=.21), tumour site (p=.42), overall stage (p=.11), T stage (p=.19), and N stage (p=.69). Multivariate analyses showed that a WHO PS score>or=2 (p<.0001) and RT treatment time>or=50 days (p=.0172) significantly decreased LRC. Moreover, a WHO PS score>or=2 (p<.0001), RT treatment time>or=50 days (p=.0138), and RT dose<66 Gy (p=.04) were significantly negative prognostic factors on OS. CONCLUSION: Definitive RT, in patients with early- and more advanced-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, is an important treatment option. It is clear that patients with good pretreatment PS would get better results from definitive RT.

An unusual metastatic site of tongue carcinoma: shoulder muscles.

The incidence of skeletal muscle metastases is reported to be less than 1% of metastases of haematogenous origin. Distant skeletal muscle metastases from head and neck squamous cell carcinomas are exceedingly rare. Only a case with tongue carcinoma metastasized to paravertebral muscles, has been reported so far. The reasons for the rarity of metastatic involvement of skeletal muscle are still unclear. The presence of skeletal muscle metastases in the setting of disseminated disease offers no hope for curative treatment. We report an unusual case of a 63-year-old patient with tongue carcinoma metastasizing to the left shoulder muscles. To our knowledge, this is the first such case to be reported in the English medical literature.