Breast Lump (breast + lump)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Medical Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Myxoid liposarcoma of the breast in a 25-year-old female as a diagnostic pitfall in fine needle aspiration cytology: Report of a rare case

DIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 9 2008
Ishita Pant M.D.
Abstract Primary sarcomas of the breast are extremely rare comprising less than 1.0% of all malignant tumors of the breast. It is even rarer to be reported in a 25-year-old female. This can cause a diagnostic dilemma not only for the clinician but also for the cytopathologist. A 25-year-old woman presented with a well defined firm, mobile lump in her right breast. With fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and ultrasonography a diagnosis of fibroadenoma was made. The patient underwent lumpectomy. Histopathologically it was diagnosed as myxoid liposarcoma. This case is reported to highlight the fact that, even though rare in young females but the possibility of a breast lump being a myxoid liposarcoma does exist. This report discusses a primary myxoid liposarcoma of female breast, considers cytologic differential diagnoses with review of the relevant literature. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2008;36:674,677. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Breast Cancer Knowledge and Preventive Behaviors An Urban Emergency Department-based Survey

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 12 2000
Kevin M. Takakuwa MA
Abstract. Objective: To assess general knowledge and preventive behaviors regarding breast cancer among women who present to an urban emergency department. Methods: During a six-month study period, a convenience sampling of women aged 21 years and older who were in treatment and waiting areas was surveyed. The anonymous written survey asked about demographic variables, knowledge, and preventive behaviors regarding breast cancer. Knowledge was assessed with questions about the recommended frequency of breast self-examination and the recommended age for first mammography. Performance was assessed by questions about breast self-exam and mammography. Subgroup analysis was done by age (above and below 40 years old), race, income (above and below the median), insurance type, history of breast lump, and family history (FH) of breast cancer. Results: Four hundred women completed surveys. Two hundred twelve (53%) correctly knew the answers to the two knowledge questions. Knowledge was greater in women with private insurance. Knowledge of the frequency of breast self-exam was significantly greater among whites and Native Americans than among African Americans, Asians, or Hispanics. Stated performance of preventive behaviors was 72% (288) for breast self-exam and for mammography. Preventive behaviors were significantly more likely to be performed by higher-income and privately-insured women. Breast self-exam was more likely to be done in older women, those with a history of a breast lump, and those with a FH of breast cancer. Conclusions: Women with lower income and without private insurance were less likely to be knowledgeable and practice preventive measures for detecting breast disease. [source]


Dietary and other risk factors in women having fibrocystic breast conditions with and without concurrent breast cancer: A nested case-control study in Shanghai, China

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 6 2005
Wenjin Li
Abstract Risk of breast cancer is increased in women with proliferative benign breast conditions. Most of these conditions, however, do not progress to breast cancer. The purpose of our study was to identify factors possibly associated with this progression. Women with proliferative fibrocystic breast conditions alone (214), and women with proliferative fibrocystic breast conditions and concurrent breast cancer (130), were compared to each other, and each of these groups of women were also compared to 1,070 controls; and 176 women with non-proliferative benign breast conditions alone, and 155 also with breast cancer, were similarly compared. All study subjects were selected from a cohort of women enrolled in a trial of breast self-examination in Shanghai. Women were interviewed to ascertain information on suspected risk factors for breast cancer and dietary habits. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Increased risks of both proliferative fibrocystic breast conditions alone, and with breast cancer, were associated with low parity, a prior benign breast lump and breast cancer in a first-degree relative. Decreasing trends in the risk of both conditions with increasing intake of fruits and vegetables were observed. No factors were significantly associated with risk of breast cancer relative to risk of proliferative changes. Similar, but in some instances weaker, associations were observed for non-proliferative fibrocystic conditions with and without breast cancer. The possible risk or protective factors that were observed in our study most likely alter the risk of breast cancer at an early stage in the carcinogenic process, and probably do not alter risk of progression from proliferative fibrocystic breast conditions to breast cancer. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Muco-epidermoid carcinoma of the breast

PATHOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 9 2006
Rie Horii
A very rare case of muco-epidermoid carcinoma of the breast is reported. A 54-year-old woman noticed a breast lump and consulted the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo. Physical examination revealed a mass with an unclear margin in the upper outer area of the left breast. Both mammography and ultrasonography showed an irregularly shaped mass, suggesting invasive carcinoma. Aspiration cytology revealed solid clusters of two types of cancer cells: ones with mucus in the cytoplasm, and others without mucus. Cytological features resembled muco-epidermoid carcinoma of the salivary gland but it was not possible to establish a diagnosis of the histological type because muco-epidermoid carcinoma of the breast had not previously been encountered by the authors. After incisional biopsy, left mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection was performed. Histologically the tumor was surrounded by a fibrous pseudocapsule and was composed of intraductal carcinoma foci and invasive cancer nests. Intraductal carcinoma foci were the low papillary type. Stromal invasion showed many solid nests composed of mucus-containing and squamoid cancer cells. There was no common invasive ductal carcinoma component in this tumor. These histological features confirmed the diagnosis as muco-epidermoid carcinoma of the breast. This is the first report of muco-epidermoid carcinoma of the breast in Japan. [source]


Breast cancer in men in the United States,

CANCER, Issue 15 2010
A population-based study of diagnosis, survival, treatment
Abstract BACKGROUND: Breast cancer in men is rare, so clinical trials are not practical. Recommendations suggest treating men who are diagnosed with breast cancer using the guidelines for postmenopausal women; however, to date, no population-based studies have evaluated patterns of care. METHODS: To examine characteristics, treatment, and survival among men with newly diagnosed breast cancer, in 2003 and 2004, 512 men were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. Data were reabstracted and therapy was verified through the patients' treating physicians. RESULTS: The majority of men (79%) were diagnosed through discovery of a breast lump or other signs/symptoms. Among men who had invasive disease, 86% underwent mastectomy, 37% received chemotherapy, and 58% received hormone therapy. In multivariate analysis, tumor size (P = .01) and positive lymph node status (P < .0001) were associated positively with the use of chemotherapy, whereas age group (P < .0001) and current unmarried status (P = .01) had negative associations. Among men who had invasive, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive/borderline tumors, the use of tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (AIs) was associated with age group (P = .05). Among men who had invasive disease, cancer mortality was associated with tumor size (P < .0001). Among men with ER-positive/borderline disease, increased cancer mortality was associated with tumor size (P < .0001), current unmarried status (P = .04), and decreased mortality with tamoxifen (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Tumor characteristics and marital status were the primary predictors of therapy and cancer mortality among men with breast cancer. Although AIs are not currently recommended, they are commonly prescribed. However, their use did not result in a decrease in cancer mortality. Research must examine the efficacy of AIs with and without gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society. [source]


Pathogenesis of breast carcinoma

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2004
Ian S. Fentiman
Summary Breast cancer usually develops after a series of epithelial changes in the terminal ductolobular unit. There are multiple benign causes of breast lumps, the majority of which are not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Histological changes of pre-malignancy such as atypical hyperplasia and in situ carcinoma can be identified, and these are indications for either close surveillance or further surgery. At the time of diagnosis, breast cancers can be staged both clinically and pathologically, and this facilitates international comparisons of results of treatment. [source]


Sonographic appearances of galactoceles

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ULTRASOUND, Issue 1 2002
Sukhpal Sawhney MD
Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate and summarize the sonographic appearances of galactoceles. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the sonograms and clinical records of 10 patients with galactoceles who had been examined over a 5-year period to evaluate breast lumps that had occurred during lactation or the puerperium. Results Sonograms from all patients showed well-defined lesions with thin, echogenic walls. The internal appearances of the lesions included homogeneous contents with medium-level echoes in 6 patients and heterogeneous contents with fluid clefts and anechoic rims in 4 patients. Focal echogenic areas with distal shadowing were seen in 2 patients. Most of the lesions showed some distal acoustic enhancement, depending on the internal contents. The diagnosis of a galactocele was established by needle aspiration in 9 patients and by excision biopsy in 1 patient. Needle aspiration alone was therapeutic in 8 patients. Conclusions Galactoceles can have a wide range of sonographic appearances and can mimic other lesions of the breast, both benign and malignant. The clues to the diagnosis are recent childbirth and lactation and the presence of a well-defined lesion with some distal acoustic enhancement. Needle aspiration of the lesion is both a diagnostic tool and an effective treatment in most patients with galactoceles. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 30:18,22, 2002. [source]


Review article Male breast cancer , an andrological disease: risk factors and diagnosis

ANDROLOGIA, Issue 6 2004
W. Krause
Summary. Gynaecomastia, the enlargement of the male breast, is considered as an andrological disease. To date, a review on male breast cancer (MBC) has not been published in an andrological journal. The papers underlying this review were published from authors of different institutions: Clinical Genetics, Dermatology, Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Pathology, Psychiatry, Radiology and Surgery. MBC accounts for approximately 1% of breast cancer patients. A total of 182 men died of breast cancer in 1999, in Germany. In the US, 1500 new cases per year occur. MBC accounts for <5% of surgically removed breast lumps. Diseases with increased oestrogen action increase the risk of MBC. Mutations of distinct genes are estimated to account for up to roughly 10% of MBC. BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are responsible for approximately 80% of the families with hereditary breast cancer. The diagnosis of MBC is not possible without histological examination. Different diagnostic procedures such as clinical diagnosis, sonography, mammography, fine-needle biopsy and core needle facilitate the decision whether a biopsy is necessary. [source]