J Korean Soc Radiol.  2018 Apr;78(4):279-283. 10.3348/jksr.2018.78.4.279.

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis of the Breast: A Case Report

• Ha T
• Yim H
• Park SY
• Kang DK
• Kim TH

• KMID: 2407933
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/jksr.2018.78.4.279

Abstract

Leukocytoclastic vasculitis is a rare disease characterized by neutrophil and immune-complex deposition in the small vessel walls. We report a 47-year-old female patient with leukocytoclastic vasculitis of the breast, presenting as breast edema on mammography, irregular hypoechoic lesion with central necrosis on ultrasonography and regionally distributed heterogeneous non-mass enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging.

MeSH Terms

Breast*
Edema
Female
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mammography
Middle Aged
Necrosis
Neutrophils
Rare Diseases
Ultrasonography
Vasculitis*

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 A 47-year-old woman with leukocytoclastic vasculitis of right breast. A. Patient showing erythematous skin changes, ulceration and necrosis of right breast. B. Mammographic images show focal asymmetry in the subareolar area with diffuse skin thickening and trabecular thickening of right breast. C. Ultrasound shows the presence of an irregular hypoechoic lesion with central necrosis (an arrow in the left image) in the right subareolar area. Reactive lymph node hyperplasia (an arrow in the right image) is noted in right axilla. D. The contrast-enhanced fat-suppressed T1-weighted image reveals regionally distributed heterogeneous non-mass enhancement in the right central breast with involvement of the right nipple and periareolar area (left). Color map image obtained with computer-aided diagnosis (right), shows the lesion containing a central red portion suggesting initial rapid and delayed washout pattern of kinetic analysis. E. Histological examination (hematoxylin and eosin stain, × 100) reveals several infiltrating neutrophils in the small vessel wall causing vessel wall damage (black arrow). Massive intravascular fibrin thrombi are also noted in the superficial vessels (white arrow).

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