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Chest wall tumors presenting as breast lumps
Sami Shousha1, H Dudley Sinnett
1Department of Histopathology, Charing Cross Hospital and Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. s.shousha@ic.ac.uk
The Breast Journal
|March 11, 2004
Summary
Large breast lumps can be rare mesenchymal tumors originating from the chest wall, not the breast tissue itself. Computed tomography (CT) scans can aid in identifying these chest wall tumors.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Radiology
- Surgical Pathology
Background:
- Mesenchymal tumors are rare in the breast, with most originating from breast tissue.
- Chest wall tumors can present as breast masses, potentially misdiagnosed.
Observation:
- Two patients presented with large breast masses that were identified as pure mesenchymal tumors.
- These tumors originated from the underlying chest wall, not the breast parenchyma.
Findings:
- One tumor was diagnosed as a giant cell tumor of soft tissue.
- The other tumor was identified as an osteogenic sarcoma, a bone-forming tumor.
Implications:
- These cases suggest that some mesenchymal breast tumors may arise from the chest wall.
- Breast computed tomography (CT) is recommended for differentiating breast and chest wall masses.
- Increased awareness may improve diagnosis of these rare chest wall-derived breast masses.