Palpable multifocal and multicentric invasive lobular breast carcinoma in a young female

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common carcinoma plaguing women in the United States. Invasive lobular carcinoma is the second most prevalent type of breast carcinoma with an incidence rate of 5% and 15% with high propensity for multifocal manifestation of disease. Multifocal disease is defined by two or more malignant foci within a single quadrant. Invasive lobular carcinoma is strongly associated with early menarche, late menopause, late age at first birth, and is typically seen in women ages 50 and older. Invasive lobular carcinoma can be difficult to detect clinically because lesions typically fail to form palpable masses, and it can be challenging to diagnose mammographically due to subtle imaging features of the lesions. Here we present a rare case of a palpable, unilateral, multifocal and multicentric lobular breast carcinoma in a young, previously healthy 41-year-old woman with no family history of breast cancer.

Keywords

• Breast carcinoma
• Invasive lobular carcinoma
• Multifocal lobular carcinoma of the breast
• Mammography
• Ultrasound
• Magnetic resonance imaging