Pathologic quiz case: A 93-year-old woman with an enlarged and tender left breast

Abstract

[Excerpt] A 93-year-old woman presented with a gradual onset of an enlarging, tender, and erythematous left breast. She had no other relevant history. Clinical examination suggested an inflammatory carcinoma, along with an area of diffuse thickening in the upper outer quadrant. She underwent mammography, the results of which were unremarkable, followed by a core biopsy of the thickened area. Following this, she underwent a left mastectomy with axillary dissection. Macroscopically, the specimencomprised a disk of fibrofatty breast tissue, 150 3 80 3 50 mm, covered by a nipple-bearing ellipse of skin measuring 130 3 80 mm. On sectioning, the entire breast was diffusely pale and firm, with a more distinct irregular, firm area that measured 30 3 20 3 50 mm in the upper outer quadrant, close to the deep margin. [...]