Inflammatory breast cancer: MR imaging findings.
OBJECTIVE
This paper describes the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features of primary inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).


METHODS
Two radiologists reviewed the MR examinations of 14 women with a pathological diagnosis of IBC. Images were assessed for skin thickening, oedema, nipple retraction, architectural distortion, type and extent of parenchymal and cutaneous enhancement and enhancement kinetics over time, axillary and internal mammary lymphadenopathy, pectoral muscle enhancement and additional findings.


RESULTS
Skin thickening was identified in eight patients (58%), oedema in nine (64%), nipple retraction in two (14%), architectural distortion in eight (58%), mass-like enhancement in five (36%), non-mass-like enhancement in nine (64%) with washout enhancement curve in 12 (86%) and plateau curve in two (14%), axillary lymphadenopathy in 12 (86%) and internal mammary artery lymphadenopathy in two (14%), and pectoral muscle enhancement in one (7%). Additional findings included increased breast volume in two patients (14%), prepectoral fluid in four (28%) and hypertrophic internal mammary artery in three (21%).


CONCLUSIONS
The most characteristic MR findings of IBC are skin thickening, oedema, architectural distortion, mass-like enhancement with washout curve and axillary lymphadenopathy; less frequent ones are nipple retraction, mass-like enhancement and internal mammary lymphadenopathy. Prepectoral fluid is frequent but is not a sign of infiltration.
Carbognin
G
G
Istituto di Radiologia, Università degli studi di Verona, Verona, Italy. giovanni.carbognin@azosp.vr.it
Calciolari
C
C
Girardi
V
V
Camera
L
L
Pollini
G
G
Pozzi Mucelli
R
R
D001365:Axilla / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008323:Mammary Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009558:Nipples / Q000473:pathology; D010369:Pectoralis Muscles / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity