Benign Inclusions in Lymph Nodes

Radiologic and Pathologic Findings of Axillary Intraductal Papilloma Arising in Accessory Breast Tissue: A Case Report and Literature Review

INTRODUCTION

This is a rare case report of axillary intraductal papilloma arising in accessory breast tissue.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 49-year-old woman presented to our clinic with a palpable right axillary mass that had first appeared 6 months earlier. Mammography and ultrasonography of the right axilla revealed an ovoid mass surrounding accessory breast tissue. Ultrasound-guided 14-G core-needle biopsy was performed and pathologically revealed intraductal papilloma without atypia.

CONCLUSION

Since ectopic breast tissue is affected by the same pathologic processes as normal breast tissue, a core-needle biopsy can be used to identify the suspicious lesions in axillary breast tissue.

Endocervicosis involving axillary lymph nodes: first case report

The occurence of Mullerian epithelial inclusions, especially endosalpingiosis, in pelvic and other subdiaphragmatic lymph nodes is well known. In contrast, Mullerian inclusions involving lymph nodes above the diaphragm is uncommon, although occasional cases of endosalpingiosis have been reported. We report a case of benign Mullerian inclusions of mucinous endocervical type (endocervicosis) coexistent with metastatic breast-infiltrating ductal carcinoma in 2 axillary lymph nodes. The inclusions exhibited diffuse positive staining with CK7, PAX8, CA125, and estrogen receptor and were WT1 negative. To our knowledge, this is the first report of endocervicosis involving supradiaphragmatic lymph nodes. Close morphologic examination and immunohistochemistry assists in distinguishing Mullerian inclusions from metastatic adenocarcinoma.

Intraductal papilloma in an axillary lymph node of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus: a case report and review of the literature

Introduction

Inclusions of ectopic breast tissue in axillary lymph nodes are reported very infrequently and typically are only identified microscopically as an incidental finding. Furthermore the development of a benign proliferative lesion in the form of an intraductal papilloma from intranodal ectopic breast tissue is an extremely rare phenomenon with only three previous cases reported. This report describes an unusual and rare case of an intraductal papilloma arising in an axillary lymph node of a patient known to have the human immunodeficiency virus.

Case presentation

A 40-year-old Black African woman underwent excision of an enlarged palpable axillary lymph node. In the preceding 7 years she had received at least six separate surgical excisions to her ipsilateral breast for papillomatosis. The last surgical intervention was performed 1 year prior to presentation with an enlarged axillary lymph node. Histological examination of her axillary lymph node revealed a papillomatous proliferative epithelial lesion within an apparent encompassing duct, resembling a mammary intraductal papilloma. In the surrounding lymphoid tissue small groups of duct-like structures were additionally noted. Immunostaining with a panel of myoepithelial markers in conjunction with oestrogen receptor produced a mixed heterogeneous staining pattern in both the papillomatous lesion and the peripheral duct-like structures. This confirmed the diagnosis of a benign intraductal papilloma within an axillary lymph node, considered to have arisen from ectopic breast tissue.

Conclusions

This case demonstrates that intranodal ectopic breast tissue has the potential to undergo benign proliferative change albeit extremely rarely. Therefore this possibility must be considered to ensure the correct diagnosis is made. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report which has described recurrent intraductal papillomas and the subsequent development of an intraductal papilloma within an ipsilateral axillary lymph node, in a patient who is human immunodeficiency virus positive. There is minimal literature investigating the specific types of breast pathologies experienced by patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus and it remains unexplored as to whether human immunodeficiency virus may lead to proliferative papillomatous epithelial changes. This report considers the role of the human papillomavirus and recommends that further investigatory studies are required.