Bilateral primary breast lymphoma

Abstract

Primary breast lymphoma (PBL) is rare, accounting for 0.04%-0.50% of breast malignancies and 1.7% of extranodal lymphoma.1,2 The originally described diagnostic criteria for PBL2 remains the standard definition for this disease. These criteria are breast location as the clinical site of presentation, absence of history of previous lymphoma or evidence of widespread disease at diagnosis, close association of lymphoma with breast tissue in pathologic specimens, and involvement of ipsilateral lymph nodes if they develop simultaneously with PBL. Although the origin of the lymphocytes within the breast that give rise to lymphoma is unclear, these tumors may arise from mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue. While breast lymphoma is rare, either as a primary site or as secondary involvement, the latter is more common in patients having a diffuse disease.3 Most reports of PBL have been from single institutions, have involved a small number of cases, and have typically been retrospective. A limitation of these reports concerns the plethora of histological subtypes, various treatment modalities, and different staging systems that exist. Presently, we reported a 47-year-old female patient with bilateral PBL who presented with large and rapidly growing masses in both breasts, and compared this case with the available literatures.