Surgical Excision Versus Medical Management of Primary Breast Lymphoma: A Case Report

Lymphoma of the breast accounts for 0.4-0.5% of all breast-located cancers and is found in a similar fashion to breast cancers. Here we present a 74-year-old woman who presented for a biopsy of a breast mass found on a routine mammogram, which was found to be a primary breast lymphoma. According to current practice guidelines, medical therapy is favorable for the definitive management of primary breast lymphomas. However, biopsy specimen cytology found neoplastic cells positive for human germinal center-associated lymphoma, a nonspecific marker for various types of lymphomas. Without a definitive classification of lymphoma, optimal medical therapy could not be achieved. Therefore, a decision was made to undergo a lumpectomy of the mass, which yielded a specimen that was found pathologically favorable for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. With this information, the patient was referred to follow-up oncology for adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy.