The mammary hamartoma: appreciation of additional imaging characteristics

The diagnosis and treatment of 56 cases of breast hamartoma: a single-center analysis and a review of the literature

Introduction

To analyze and summarize the clinical and pathological features of breast hamartoma to enhance clinicians' awareness of this rare and benign lesion of the breast.

Methods

We retrospectively described the clinical data, imaging results, and pathological findings of 56 patients with breast hamartoma who underwent surgical treatment at the First Hospital of Jilin University between January 2005 and December 2020, and summarized the features. Additionally, a literature review was conducted using the PubMed database for clinical reports on breast hamartoma and analyzed them.

Results

This study included 56 female patients. Preoperative ultrasound revealed round or elliptical heterogeneous echoes with clear boundaries: hypoechoic in 35 cases (63%), iso-echoic in 8 cases (14%), hyperechoic in 1 case (2%), mixed echo in 9 cases (16%), slightly strong echo in 1 case (2%), and uneven echo of fat in 2 cases (4%). Mammography was performed in 33 cases, revealing clear and dense shadows in 20 cases (61%) and dense shadows on the outer edges in 16 cases (48%). The excised masses were solid, with light yellow and gray cut surfaces. Pathological analysis identified ducts and fibrous tissue, with intra-tumoral fat content ranging from 10 to 90%.

Conclusion

Breast hamartoma is prevalent among perimenopausal women and is characterized by ultrasound and radiography; surgical intervention remains the primary treatment with a good prognosis.

Breast hamartoma: reassessment of an underrecognized breast lesion

AIMS

Breast hamartomas are an under-recognized lesion because they lack a distinctive microscopic appearance. Microscopic diagnosis can often conclude "no significant lesion" or "normal breast tissue", leading to repeated biopsies and diagnostic delay. We describe the histological, immunohistochemical and radiological features of breast hamartomas in the aim of identifying specific signs to facilitate their diagnosis and to differentiate them from normal breast and fibroepithelial lesions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-seven breast hamartomas were reassessed (histological diagnosis and imaging features). An immunohistochemical study (ER, PR, CD34, HMGA2) was performed. On breast imaging, hamartomas most often presented as probably benign solid masses with circumscribed margins and variable densities. Histologically, breast hamartomas resembled normal breast, although their stromal component was predominant, separating randomly scattered epithelial elements, with areas of pure collagenous stroma. Pseudo angiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH) was present in 93.6% of cases and CD34 antibody highlighted intralobular, perilobular and interlobular distribution of CD34-positive fibroblasts. By comparison, CD34 was mostly expressed in the intralobular normal breast tissue stroma. Hamartoma stromal cells expressed HMGA2, ER and PR in 79%, 66% and 76.3% of our cases, respectively, compared to 7.7%, 23% and 19% in normal breast tissue, respectively (P<0.0001; P=0.0005; P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

After ascertaining that core needle biopsy is effectively intralesional, breast hamartomas can be diagnosed with confidence by taking into account the presence of stromal changes, PASH, interlobular distribution of CD34-positive fibroblasts, HMGA2 and hormonal receptor stromal expression.

What you see is not always what you get: Radiographic-pathologic discordance among benign breast masses

The differential diagnosis for benign breast masses is broad and ranges from common lesions like fibroadenomas to rare masses like breast hamartomas. Fibroadenomas are proliferative benign masses made up of fibroglandular tissue. Hamartomas are neoplasms comprised of different tissues that are endogenous to the area where they originate. Breast hamartomas specifically, are rare, benign slow growing tumours comprised of fibrotic stroma, adipose, glandular tissue, and epithelial components. Both lesions are painless, firm, and are typically palpable on clinical exam. Given their similarities in composition, diagnosing these masses can be challenging, but may be confirmed with ultrasonography, mammogram, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or via histological specimen. Once diagnosed, surgical excision is the preferred treatment option. We present a 33-year-old woman with a large left breast mass that gradually increased in size and provide a review of the current literature regarding the challenge of distinguishing between breast fibroadenomas and hamartomas.

Mesenchymal Lesions of the Breast: What Radiologists Need to Know

OBJECTIVE

Mesenchymal breast tumors originate from the various components of mammary stroma. The aim of this review is to discuss the clinical presentation, imaging appearance, and management of mesenchymal breast lesions.

CONCLUSION

Although many mesenchymal tumors exhibit characteristic findings on imaging, others show nonspecific characteristics and require tissue biopsy for diagnosis. An awareness of the clinical and imaging presentation is essential in guiding the differential diagnosis and patient management.

Benign mimickers of malignant breast lesions

Breast pathology is filled with pitfalls, including underdiagnosis of bland-appearing lesions, both invasive and non-invasive, misdiagnosis of malignant lesions as belonging to the wrong subgroup, for example, calling LCIS as DCIS or missing the metaplastic component of an invasive lesion, and overdiagnosis of benign lesions as malignancy. While each is a sin of varying severity, the overdiagnosis of benign lesions can be the most scarring, especially in this age where Angelina Jolie׳s prophylactic mastectomy is the headline news and patients are pushing for aggressive preventive treatment. In this review, we will consider some of the more common benign lesions and the malignant counterpart that they mimic, with the goal of identifying characteristic features that will lead to the correct diagnosis. Much of the discussions will center around the assessment of core biopsies, as smaller tissue volume is most often contributory to overcalling benign lesions.

Imaging of fat-containing lesions of the breast: a pictorial essay

Fat-containing breast lesions constitute a heterogeneous group of predominantly benign tumors and non-neoplastic conditions. The role of imaging is to distinguish leave-me-alone lesions from rarely occurring malignant fat-containing tumors that require histologic analysis. Correlating mammographic findings with appearance at ultrasonography often helps in identifying lesions that do not require further work-up. MRI can be valuable to confirm the presence of fat and characterize lesions indeterminate on conventional imaging. The purpose of this multimodality imaging review is to exemplify the radiologic appearances of common and uncommon fat-containing breast lesions to facilitate accurate diagnosis, avoid unnecessary interventions, and ensure appropriate management.

Benign breast lesions: Ultrasound

Benign breast diseases constitute a heterogeneous group of lesions arising in the mammary epithelium or in other mammary tissues, and they may also be linked to vascular, inflammatory or traumatic pathologies. Most lesions found in women consulting a physician are benign. Ultrasound (US) diagnostic criteria indicating a benign lesion are described as well as US findings in the most frequent benign breast lesions.

The wide spectrum of hyperechoic lesions of the breast

Although breast lesions are commonly detected because of their hypoechogenicity, some lesions may present with hyperechogenicity due to their histological components. Hyperechogenicity has been shown to be highly predictive of benignity; however, hyperechoic lesions can occasionally be malignant. This article reviews hyperechoic lesions of the breast, describes the underlying histological causes associated with hyperechogenicity, and the sonographic features useful for the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant hyperechoic lesions.

A rare case of recurrent myoid hamartoma mimicking malignancy: imaging appearances

Myoid hamartoma is an uncommon type of breast hamartoma and its recurrence is very rare. We report the imaging appearance of an unusual case of recurrent myoid hamartoma of the breast mimicking malignancy in a 43-year-old woman. Although the mammographic and ultrasonographic findings have long been described in the literature, MR finding with a dynamic study has not, to the best of our knowledge, been reported previously.

Sonographic features of breast hamartomas

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the sonographic characteristics of breast hamartomas.

METHODS

Data and sonographic images of 14 breast hamartomas were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

All patients had clinically palpable lumps. The median patient age was 39.5 years (range, 24-60 years). Eleven (78.6%) tumors occurred in the right breast, and 3 (21.4%) were in the left. The median tumor size measured by sonography was 2.8 cm (range, 1.2-4.9 cm). The median longest transverse dimension-anteroposterior diameter ratio of the tumors was 2.44 (range, 1.52-3.73). All tumors were oval and compressible with transducer pressure. Thirteen (92.9%) tumors were well circumscribed with smooth tumor margins, and 1 (7.1%) had indistinct margins. The internal echo texture was hyperechoic in 6 (42.9%), mixed (heterogeneous) echogenicity in 5 (35.7%), and isoechoic in 3 (21.4%). Four (28.6%) tumors had echogenic halos, and 2 (14.3%) had anechoic halos. Ten (71.4%) tumors had no retrotumor acoustic phenomena. Two (14.3%) had bilateral edge shadowing; 1 (7.1%) had posterior enhancement; and 1 (7.1%) had a mixture of enhancement and shadowing.

CONCLUSIONS

Breast hamartomas were well-circumscribed, solid, oval tumors without intratumor microcalcification. The internal echo texture of most hamartomas is either hyperechoic or composed of mixed echogenicity. Retrotumor acoustic phenomena were absent in most hamartomas.

Myoid hamartoma of the breast: case report and review of the literature

Hamartoma is a mass of disorganized but mature specialized cells or tissue indigenous to the particular site. They can occur anywhere in the body, and their common sites of occurrence include lungs, skin, hypothalamus, spleen, and kidneys, of which lungs are the most common. We report a rather unusual, largely unrecognized case of myoid hamartoma of the breast. They constitute approximately 3.9%-4.8% of breast tumors. Myoid hamartomas belong to a spectrum of benign breast lesion of dual origin, containing myoepithelial and myofibroblastic components in varying proportions. They are usually asymptomatic but can present as well-circumscribed masses that do not possess specific diagnostic histologic features, and diagnosis is, therefore, difficult. In contrast to many other benign or malignant breast lesions, the diagnosis of hamartoma can easily be missed. Herein, we discuss the importance of radiologic, immunohistochemical studies and histopathologic findings in the diagnosis of a myoid hamartoma. Extensive review of the literature has been done for this purpose, and we highlight the clinical presentation and therapeutic aspects of this breast lesion.

Radiological Reasoning:Male Breast Mass with Calcifications

OBJECTIVE

We encountered a mammographically calcified breast mass in a 30-year-old man. It was initially thought to be comedo-type ductal carcinoma in situ because of the dense calcifications, but sonography and MRI suggested a highly vascular lesion. The final pathologic diagnosis was hemangioma.

CONCLUSION

Vascular tumors of the breast occur infrequently and are even more rare in males. The clinical and radiologic diagnosis of breast hemangioma is often difficult, but different imaging techniques, when used together, can provide important information for differential diagnosis and management. A biopsy is required.