Abstract
BackgroundBreast cancer coexisting with tuberculous axillary lymph nodes is rare.Case reportWe report a 69 years old Yemeni patient with a left breast invasive ductal carcinoma associated with contralateral tuberculous axillary lymph nodes containing microcalcifications mimicking malignancy. The patient had to be investigated for the possibility of bilateral breast cancer since she had no history of previous exposure to tuberculosis.ConclusionTuberculosis involving lymph nodes can create a diagnostic dilemma in the presence of a malignant process. The presence of calcifications in lymph nodes should raise the possibility of tuberculosis even in the absence of contact history with tuberculosis.
Highlights
Breast cancer coexisting with tuberculous axillary lymph nodes is rare
We report a case of breast cancer with contralateral tuberculous axillary lymph nodes that created a diagnostic dilemma and raised the possibility of a bilateral breast cancer
Computed tomography (CT) showed multiple enlarged right axillary lymph nodes with calcifications
Summary
Breast cancer coexisting with tuberculous axillary lymph nodes is rare. Case report: We report a 69 years old Yemeni patient with a left breast invasive ductal carcinoma associated with contralateral tuberculous axillary lymph nodes containing microcalcifications mimicking malignancy. After that and in 1899, Warthin reported the first case of coexisting tuberculosis and cancer in axillary lymph nodes [2]. Tuberculosis can produce masses and nodes that can imitate or complicate staging of the neoplastic disease [3]. We report a case of breast cancer with contralateral tuberculous axillary lymph nodes that created a diagnostic dilemma and raised the possibility of a bilateral breast cancer.
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