Lymphoma of the breast

The mammograms of 25 women and six men (33 breasts) with lymphoreticular disease of the breast were reviewed. Three patients had HD, 21 NHL (one bilateral), three had leukemic involvement of the breast, and four had plasmacytoma (one bilateral). All patients had identifiable and localized abnormalities in their breasts, many of which were well-defined masses ranging in diameter from 2 to 9 cm. From this series it would seem that lymphomatous involvement of the breast has a noticeable predilection to form relatively circumscribed masses on the mammogram. However, they lacked tumor calcifications or secondary changes such as the surrounding distortion or localized skin retraction often associated with primary breast carcinomas. This nonspecific appearance usually compromises the proper diagnosis in a primary clinical presentation of a lymphomatous breast mass without associated axillary lymphadenopathy or known lymphomatous disease of the breast.