CLINICAL, IMAGING AND PATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MAMMARY LYMPHOMAS SECONDARY TO MALIGNANT T- CELL CUTANEOUS LYMPHOMAS

Abstract

Primary cutaneous lymphomas rank as the second most common clinical form of extranodal non-Hogdkin malignant lymphomas. Among non-Hodgkin malignant skin T-cell lymphomas, Mycosis Fungoides (MF) is the most frequent clinical occurence. The MF lymphoma originates in skin-homing helper T-cells, which express the CD4 + marker, showing chronic evolution, with recurrent lesions. In advanced stages, patients with Mycosis Fungoides may experience severe/extensive skin lesions or extracutaneous localizations of the disease. The secondary breast lymphoma is more common in non-Hodgkin malignant lymphoma than in Hodgkin lymphoma. Among the mammographic characteristics of breast lymphoma we mention: oval or round tumor mass, with well-defined or indistinct margins, absence of intratumoral calcifications, presence of intramammary lymph nodes, supra-adjacent skin thickening and lymphedema that causes diffuse increase in breast density. The ultrasound features of breast lymphoma run as follows: it is oval or round in shape, with well-defined or indistinct margins, which in Doppler ultrasound are identified as hypervascularized masses. The description of the imaging features of mammary lymphomas secondary to cutaneous T-cell lymphomas is required before performing the breast core-needle biopsy.