Complex sclerosing adenosis of the breast: benign or precancerous

The proliferative center of Aschoff, better known as radial scar, resembles carcinoma mammographically and histologically. It is a begnin condition even if some authors suggested that the radial scar is an early stage in mammary carcinogenesis. We report the case of a 31 year old women who complained during four months from breast pain and palpable mass on the same breast. Examination showed a 1,5cm mass on the right upper quadrant, hard without axillary lymph nodes. Mammography showed an irregular opacity, suggestive of a breast malignancy. A fine needle biopsy showed an infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Patient underwent surgery. We performed a conservative treatement with large tumor excision and dissection of sentinel lymph node. Hystological examination showed a 18 /15mm radial scar with safe margins and no sign of malignancy. The sentinel lymph node was normal. Only twenty five percent of radial scars are palpable and most of them are asymptomatic. Good quality mammography is essential to identify those lesions, whereas, ultrasonography has no role in the diagnosis. Pathological appearance is similar to small invasive cancers. Thus, the uses of immunohistochemistry techniques are necessary to distinguish radial scars from carcinomas. The questions are about whether radial scar is a premalignant lesion or not and if wide local excision is always necessary. We report herein the case of a young woman with radial scar which illustrates all the difficulties of this rare breast condition

[Complex sclerosing adenosis of the breast: benign or precancerous?]

The proliferative center of Aschoff, better known as radial scar, resembles carcinoma mammographically and histologically. It is a begnin condition even if some authors suggested that the radial scar is an early stage in mammary carcinogenesis. We report the case of a 31 year old women who complained during four months from breast pain and palpable mass on the same breast. Examination showed a 1,5 cm mass on the right upper quadrant, hard without axillary lymph nodes. Mammography showed an irregular opacity, suggestive of a breast malignancy. A fine needle biopsy showed an infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Patient underwent surgery. We performed a conservative treatement with large tumor excision and dissection of sentinel lymph node. Hystological examination showed a 18 /15mm radial scar with safe margins and no sign of malignancy. The sentinel lymph node was normal. Only twenty five percent of radial scars are palpable and most of them are asymptomatic. Good quality mammography is essential to identify those lesions, whereas, ultrasonography has no role in the diagnosis. Pathological appearance is similar to small invasive cancers. Thus, the uses of immunohistochemistry techniques are necessary to distinguish radial scars from carcinomas. The questions are about whether radial scar is a premalignant lesion or not and if wide local excision is always necessary. We report herein the case of a young woman with radial scar which illustrates all the difficulties of this rare breast condition

[Paravaginal desmoid tumor]

Desmoid tumors are benign but are characterized by a local real malignancy because of their propensity to relapse. This is a woman 27 years old who presents a pelvic pain with a paravaginal mass. The MRI showed a pelvi perineal tumor. A vaginal resection was performed and histology was in favor of a sedmoid tumor. A year later, recurrence was noted. The desmoid tumors are rare tumors that occur in young adults. Surgical treatment is curative treatment of choice, even if it does not prevent relapse. Other therapies have been proposed, including hormonal therapy with good results. The invasive potential and high recurrence rate of these tumors are tumors feared