Inflammatory breast carcinoma (carcinoma erysipeloides): an easily overlooked diagnosis.
A 70-year-old woman developed erythema and induration of the right chest wall, and swelling of her right arm. The provisional diagnosis was deep venous thrombosis and/or cellulitis of the right arm. Skin biopsy showed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma within lymphatic vessels, and immunohistochemical staining revealed this to be of breast origin. Inflammatory carcinoma or carcinoma erysipeloides represents < 1% of all cases of breast carcinoma. Our case illustrates the importance of considering this entity in the differential diagnosis of unilateral chest wall erythema and induration.
Finkel
L J
LJ
Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109-0314.
Griffiths
C E
CE
D000368:Aged; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002481:Cellulitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013924:Thrombophlebitis / Q000175:diagnosis