Primary and secondary T-cell lymphomas of the breast: clinico-pathologic features of 11 cases

Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol. 2009 Jul;17(4):301-6. doi: 10.1097/PAI.0b013e318195286d.

Abstract

Breast involvement by non-Hodgkin lymphomas is rare, and exceptional for T-cell lymphomas; we studied the morphologic, immunophenotypic, and clinical features of 11 patients with T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas involving the breast. Four cases fulfilled the definition criteria for primary breast lymphomas, 3 females and 1 male, with a median age of 51 years. One primary breast lymphomas was T-cell lymphoma unspecified, other was subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma, and 2 cases were anaplastic large cell lymphomas. One of the anaplastic large cell lymphoma cases was found surrounding a silicone breast implant and presented as clinically as mastitis; whereas the other case occurred in a man. T-cell lymphoma secondarily involved the breast in 7 patients, all women and 1 bilateral, with a median age of 29 years. These secondary breast lymphomas occurred as part of widespread nodal or leukemic disease. Three patients had adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, including the patient with bilateral lesions, 3 others had precursor T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia, and the other presented with a peripheral-T-cell lymphoma non otherwise specified type. Breast T-cell lymphomas are very infrequent and are morphologically and clinically heterogeneous.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Breast Neoplasms, Male* / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms, Male* / pathology
  • Breast Neoplasms, Male* / secondary
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / metabolism
  • Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / pathology
  • Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic* / metabolism
  • Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic* / pathology
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell* / metabolism
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell* / pathology
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous* / metabolism
  • Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous* / pathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies