Primary breast sarcoma: prevalence, clinical signs, and radiological features

Abstract

Background Primary breast sarcoma is very rare. Most reports regarding sarcoma of the breast are clinical observations or pathological series and provide either no or inconstant radiological information. Radiological publications consist predominantly of isolated case reports or small series. Purpose To determine the prevalence, clinical signs, and radiological features of primary breast sarcoma. Material and Methods This is a retrospective review of 21 patients with breast sarcoma. All patients were female and their median age was 66 years (range 27–86). In all patients the diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically. Results The prevalence of breast sarcoma was 0.1% of all identified cases with breast malignancies. Clinically, all patients presented with solitary painless breast lumps. There was no uni- or bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy. On mammography ( n = 19), two mammographic patterns could be identified: breast masses (68%), and architectural distortion (32%). On ultrasound ( n = 8), most lesions were homogeneously hypoechoic, lobular or oval in shape with microlobulated or indistinct margins. On magnetic resonance imaging ( n = 3), marked inhomogeneous contrast enhancement was seen in all investigated cases. Conclusion The imaging findings of primary breast sarcoma are not pathognomonic. However, they should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions.