Primary small-cell carcinoma of the breast: a case report.
We report a case of small-cell carcinoma of the breast. The patient was a 54-year-old Japanese woman with a left breast mass. Mammography revealed a 1.2-cm microlobulated mass with partially ill-defined borders. Ultrasonography disclosed a hypoechoic mass measuring 1.8 × 1.2 × 1.2 cm with heterogeneous internal echoes and partially ill-defined borders. The shape of the mass was round and taller than it was wide in the orthogonal section to the longest axis of the mass. These imaging findings suggested a malignant tumor. Fine-needle aspiration cytology of the tumor also suggested a ductal carcinoma. Breast-conserving surgery was performed with axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy. A diagnosis of small-cell carcinoma of the breast was made based on the histologic and immunohistochemical findings. This rare breast tumor has been reported to be aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis; however, our patient is currently well and has had no clinical recurrence of the disease after 5 years of follow-up without radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Therefore, the prognosis may be better if the tumor is detected early and there is an absence of lymph node metastasis.
Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan. teruhiko@kenroku.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
Teruhiko
T
Takayama
Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan.
Yuji
Y
Mizukami
Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan.
Akihiro
A
Takemura
Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan.
Katsuhiro
K
Ichikawa
Department of Health Science, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 5-11-80 Kodatsuno, Kanazawa, 920-0942, Japan.
Masahisa
M
Onoguchi
Futaba Breast Clinic, Kanazawa, Japan.
Takao
T
Taniya
breast; mammography; small-cell carcinoma; ultrasonography