Systemic diseases affecting the breast: Imaging, diagnosis, and management

A case of primary bilateral breast lymphoma presenting with a painless mass in the left breast

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Patients usually present with a rapidly progressed painless mass in the breast. The first pathological entity to be considered is breast cancer in case of newly developed painless mass, so that radiological and pathological evaluations must be performed. However, some systemic disorders; benign conditions like rheumatological diseases, and also systemic malignancies such as lymphoma, can mimic breast cancer by involving the breast. It is necessary to distinguish between such diseases through a correct diagnosis, because they have very different treatments and prognoses. We present a case diagnosed as bilateral primary breast lymphoma with a palpable mass in a single breast, its clinical and radiological characteristics. This case report suggests that systemic diseases should be considered in the differential diagnosis of breast diseases and breast masses, especially when there is bilaterally involvement, as discussed in this article.