title: Granuloblastic masses in the breast: report of two cases.
abstract: Two patients with granuloblastic masses of the breast, onsetting at diagnosis and as first relapse site of acute myeloid leukemia are reported. The first case had been diagnosed initially as a carcinoma, and the patient underwent bilateral mastectomy. Acute leukemia was only revealed by histology of the surgical specimen. In the second case a second neoplasia, occurring during acute leukemia, was suspected: a fine needle aspirate of the breast mass showed a leukemic infiltrate. Involvement of breast during acute myeloid leukemia is a rare event and, in our experience, of bad prognostic significance. Mammary glands may be a sanctuary for leukemic cells, contributing to unresponsiveness to chemotherapeutic agents.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Semeiotica Medica, Università Cattolica S. Cuore, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pagano
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Voso
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: La Rocca
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000473:pathology*; D017254:Leukemic Infiltration; D010053:Ovary / Q000473:pathology*; D014599:Uterus / Q000473:pathology*