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Case Reports
. 2017 Apr;30(2):197-199.
doi: 10.1080/08998280.2017.11929584.

Diagnosis of sarcoidosis from a biopsy of a dilated mammary duct

Callan Mason  1 , Robert Yang  1 , Raynal Hamilton  1 , Metin Punar  1 , Zeeshan Shah  1 , Joseph Spigel  1 , Jean Wang  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Diagnosis of sarcoidosis from a biopsy of a dilated mammary duct

Callan Mason et al. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Sarcoidosis is an immunologic disease of unknown etiology that manifests most frequently within the lungs or associated lymph nodes. Sarcoidosis involving the breast is seen in <1% of cases and usually is diagnosed in patients with multisystem disease. The clinical and imaging presentations of sarcoidosis of the breast can be variable. Though uncommon, sarcoidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a breast lesion, and given that imaging characteristics cannot distinguish between sarcoidosis and malignancy, all breast lesions in patients with sarcoidosis should be biopsied. Our case study demonstrates a diagnosis of sarcoidosis in an asymptomatic patient presenting with a single dilated duct and associated filling defect within the right breast.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Diagnostic right (a) cranial-caudal and (b) mediolateral-oblique views show a single dilated duct in the subareolar tissues of the right breast with an associated asymmetric mammographic density at the 12 o'clock position 4 to 5 cm from the nipple.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Sonographic images demonstrate (a) a dilated duct within the subareolar tissue and (b) an ill-defined hypoechoic lesion at the 11 to 12 o'clock position of the right breast, corresponding to mammographic findings.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Histological sections show confluent nonnecrotizing granulomas involving lobules and interlobular stroma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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