title: Neighboring look-a-likes: distinguishing between breast and dermatologic lesions.
abstract: Due to the proximity of the skin, subcutis, and axilla to the breast, the possibility of a "breast mass" actually representing a dermatologic lesion should be considered, particularly if the proliferation does not look characteristically "mammary" in appearance. Even more underappreciated is the scenario of a dermatologic proliferation morphologically masquerading as a breast tumor. The pathologist can fall prey to this pitfall if he/she is led to believe that the location of the tumor is the breast proper. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of dermatologic mimickers of breast lesions and helpful ways to discern between them when possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Garrett T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Desman
authors.forename: Ugur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ozerdem
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*