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Ectopic Breast Cancer Arising within an Axillary Lymph Node
Kei Toshima1, Tadahiko Shien1, Midori Filiz Nishimura2
1Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Okayama University Hospital.
Abstract:
We report our experience with the diagnosis and treatment of an ectopic breast cancer arising within an axillary lymph node. The patient was a 65-year-old woman diagnosed breast cancer and axillary lymph node metastasis. We performed a partial mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection. Postoperative pathology revealed no malignant lesions in the breast; however, a nodule in one of axillary lymph nodes had mixed benign and malignant components, leading to a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma derived from ectopic mammary tissue. This case represents a very rare form of breast cancer, and the malignancy was difficult to distinguish from metastasis.
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