Pruritic breast mass with palpable lymph nodes in a male patient: a case report

This paper presents a case study of a 78-year-old male patient who presented with exacerbated skin redness and edema on the left chest wall, especially on the left breast, and who had been suffering from associated pruritus for 6 months. The patient also presented with enlarged ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes that were suspected to be carcinomas after a preliminary ultrasound and enhanced computerized tomography (CT) examination were performed. To examine these symptoms, an ultrasound-guided core biopsy and a chronic inflammatory test were also performed. The results of the excision biopsy and the immunohistochemistry test of the left breast and ipsilateral lymph node revealed no signs of cancer in this patient. Finally, combined with his medical history, the laboratory tests and pathology results, the patient was diagnosed with plasma cell mastitis (PCM) after another suspicious lesion (e.g., inflammatory breast cancer, etc.) was excluded. PCM is a kind of benign lesion of the breast with an unclear etiology. It usually affects non-pregnant and non-lactational females, who display clinical symptoms that are often similar to those of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), the main manifestations were erythema and edema on the chest wall. To date, there is no standardized clinical treatment strategy or management approach for PCM.