Metastatic Orbital Tumor From Breast Ductal Carcinoma With Neuroendocrine Differentiation Initially Presenting as Ocular Symptoms: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: Orbital metastases from cancers of various organs can arise via the hematogenous route, and many originate from breast, prostate, and lung cancers. Such metastatic orbital tumors may be diagnosed before the primary tumor. We have encountered a case of breast ductal carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation that metastasized to the orbit and responded to chemotherapy, with improvement in visual function. Case Presentation: A woman in her fifties visited our ophthalmology department with a chief complaint of foreign body sensation and exophthalmos in her right eye. An elastic soft mass was palpated from the lateral orbit to the temporal region. A systemic examination revealed breast cancer and a metastatic orbital tumor. Excisional biopsy of the breast revealed a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation, and immunohistochemical examination was negative for cytokeratin 7, making the case unusual. Chemotherapy was remarkably effective, and the tumor size decreased, resulting in improvement of visual function. Her general condition and quality of life are still good at present. We searched the PubMed English language literature focusing on metastatic orbital tumors from breast cancer in which ocular symptoms had been the initial presenting sign. No previous reports have documented neuroendocrine differentiation or cytokeratin 7 expression in isolated orbital metastases from breast cancer. Although it is not possible to be certain from this case alone, we speculated that some such cases might involve cytokeratin 7-negative invasive breast cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation. Conclusion: We have described our experience of a very rare case of cytokeratin 7 negative breast ductal carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation that metastasized to the orbit and formed a solitary giant tumor initially manifesting as ocular symptoms.

Metastasis of advanced gastric cancer to the extraocular muscle: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic tumors in the orbit, especially from gastric cancer, are rare. We present a rare case of extraocular muscle metastasis from gastric cancer and raise consideration of metastasis to extraocular muscle as a differential diagnosis of proptosis/lid swelling in a patient with history of malignancy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 54-year-old Japanese woman presented with proptosis, lid swelling, diplopia, and retro-orbital pain in her left eye, which she had been experiencing for 1 day. She had a medical history of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach, which had metastasized to several organs. A computed tomography scan showed enlargement of the medial rectus muscle in her left eye. She was diagnosed as having gastric cancer metastasis to the medial rectus muscle of her left eye, and received a total of 20 Gy radiation therapy to the orbit, which resulted in resolution of her ocular symptoms. She died 3 months after her initial visit to our ophthalmic department. CONCLUSIONS: Metastasis from malignancy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with proptosis or lid swelling who has a history of gastric cancer. Radiation therapy of metastases in the orbit may be an effective treatment in such cases.

"Pleats fold" technique of amniotic membrane transplantation for management of corneal perforations.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy and surgical success rates of amniotic membrane (AM) transplantation performed for corneal perforation closure using a novel technique. METHODS: This study included 6 eyes from 6 patients with corneal perforation who had received AM transplantation between May 2011 and April 2012. The AM was collected from human placenta shortly after cesarean section. In surgery, the AM was folded into pleats and used to plug the wound using 10-0 nylon suture. The wound was then covered with an AM seal. After reepithelialization and AM scarring, sutures were removed. RESULTS: All 6 patients had successful wound closure with 1 surgery. One patient underwent optical keratoplasty later, and 1 patient required combined preserved sclera transplantation. The absolute value of astigmatism decreased to <3.50 diopters (D) 3 months after surgery and to <3.00 D 6 months after surgery in patients with peripheral AM transplants. The visual acuity gradually improved over the first 3 months after surgery, and visual acuity gains were maintained at the 6-month postoperative mark. CONCLUSIONS: The AM transplantation procedure may be an effective option for treating corneal perforations when the wound is circular or irregular, except for incised wounds. Our "Pleats Fold" AM transplantation technique can achieve definite closure and effectively repair wounds of various sizes. Postoperative astigmatic values were acceptable. Therefore, we recommend this procedure for repairing lesions <3 mm in diameter that do not involve the central cornea and that are infection free.

Three-dimensional imaging of the inner limiting membrane folding on the vitreomacular interface in diabetic macular edema.

PURPOSE: To report the findings of fine folds on the retina obtained by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: A retrospective non-comparative case series; 26 eyes of diabetic macular edema (DME) patients who underwent vitrectomy were observed using three-dimensional (3D) images of OCT preoperatively and postoperatively. The specimens were investigated immunohistochemically. RESULTS: Using only tomography, non-tractional vitreoretinal interfaces were observed in 15 eyes and tractional vitreoretinal interfaces in the other 11 eyes. Using 3D imaging, we observed fine folds in 11 eyes among 15 cases showing non-tractional interfaces. Based on these findings, the state of the vitreoretinal interface was classified into 3 patterns. Group 1, both tomography and 3D imaging showed smooth retinal surfaces. Group 2, tomography showed a smooth retinal surface, but 3D imaging showed fine folds on the retina. Group 3, both tomography and 3D imaging showed a tractional vitreoretinal interface with an obvious epiretinal membrane and/or taut posterior vitreous cortex. The fine folds in group 2 disappeared and macular edema improved after inner limiting membrane (ILM) peeling, and the CRT of groups 2 and 3 reduced significantly. The fine folds were confirmed to involve the ILM because type IV collagen expression was detected in the surgically obtained specimens. CONCLUSION: We observed tangential fine folds of the ILM. These were detected by using only 3D imaging, and might be useful for investigating the optimal indication of vitrectomy for DME.

Treatment of diffuse diabetic macular oedema using steroid eye drops.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of treatment of diffuse diabetic macular oedema (DME) with difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Durezol™) in eyes before vitrectomy. METHODS: This study enrolled patients with diffuse DME for whom more than 3 months had passed since prior treatment. Nineteen eyes in 15 subjects were treated with difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% four times daily for the first month and then twice daily for 2 months (treatment group). As a control group, 22 eyes in 11 subjects with DME were selected from subjects who underwent the steroid responder test. RESULTS: In the treatment group, the mean visual acuity (VA) (±SD) was 0.38 ± 0.25 logMAR and mean retinal thickness was 461.1 ± 109.9 µm at baseline. After 1 month of treatment, the mean VA had improved to 0.29 ± 0.25 (Wilcoxon rank-sum test, p = 0.30), while mean retinal thickness had decreased to 372.1 ± 70.0 µm (p = 0.006). The rate of effective improvement in retinal thickness was 42% and that of VA was 26%. In the control group, changes in neither VA nor retinal thickness were significant. CONCLUSIONS: Eye drop therapy using difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% is a useful and effective treatment modality without surgical intervention or severe side-effects.