Axillary lymph node metastases as the sole clinical site of occult breast carcinoma.

Patients without evidence of breast disease, who present with axillary lymph node metastases, consistent with breast origin, comprise a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. We describe such a case of a 47-year-old female, who complained of swelling and pain of the left axilla, but no breast mass was palpable. Although histology identified a metastatic adenocarcinoma in the lymph nodes, numerous tests failed to detect the primary tumor.