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. 2008 Apr 30:2:136.
doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-2-136.

Radiation-induced morphea of the breast: a case report

Nellie L C Cheah  1 , Daniel W Y Wong, Anula D Chetiyawardana
Affiliations

Radiation-induced morphea of the breast: a case report

Nellie L C Cheah et al. J Med Case Rep. .

Abstract

Radiation-induced morphea (RIM) of the breast is a rare complication of radiotherapy. It is disfiguring, painful and defeats the purpose of achieving a good cosmesis in breast-conservation surgery. This report describes a severe case of RIM in a breast cancer patient together with photographic illustrations of the serial changes over time and histopathology slides. A review of the literature is provided.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in the left breast over time. Nine months post-radiotherapy, the breast was erythematous, swollen and looked bruised (left panel). One year post-radiotherapy, the breast was retracted and pigmented (middle panel). Three and a half years post-radiotherapy, the breast had reduced in size and hardened with hypo- and hyper-pigmentation. The inframammary fold had significant skin telangiectasia (right panel).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histopathology slides showing lymphocytic infiltrate and thickened collagen bundles in the dermis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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