Large atypical perilobular hemangioma in the breast: a potential misdiagnosis as angiosarcoma

Atypical perilobular hemangioma (APH) of the breast is a rare type of tumor. This tumor is often small, measuring no more than 2 mm in diameter, difficult to detect or palpate, and has a good prognosis.

We report a unique case of APH in a 47-year-old female patient, which was 12 mm in diameter and characterized by tumor cell atypia. To date, six cases of APH have been reported in the literature, including the present case. The mean age of the APH patients was 49.5 years (range: 39-75 years). The majority of APHs (4/6) in the breast were initially diagnosed as angiosarcoma. The tumor in our study presented diagnostic challenges as an atypical APH due to its substantial size (12 mm), the presence of indistinct borders in certain regions, an extensive growth pattern, the hobnail appearance of endothelial cells, and the mitotic count.

In this study, we present this case to help with proper diagnosis and treatment of the tumor, to emphasize additional characteristics of APH, to summarize the clinicopathological features of this tumor as documented in the literature, and to enhance the understanding of this tumor type, particularly the differentiation between APH and low-grade angiosarcoma.

Not applicable.