2016 Volume 55 Issue 5 Pages 329-333
Background : Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare histiocytic proliferative lesion of unknown etiology, typically characterized by bilateral non-painful cervical lymphadenopathy. Herein, we report a case of primary mammary RDD which was difficult to distinguish from mastitis.
Case : A 70-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of a non-painful mass in the right breast. Mammography revealed asymmetric opacities in both breasts. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the mass in the right breast showed large histiocytes scattered in a background of erythrocytes and inflammatory cells. The histiocytes had many blood cells within the cytoplasm (so-called emperipolesis), and the blood cells had pericellular halos. Histopathological diagnosis of the excisional biopsy specimen of the right breast mass was RDD. Partial mastectomy of the left breast revealed micro-invasive ductal carcinoma, but no evidence of RDD.
Conclusion : When we encounter an inflammatory lesion of the breast, it is important to look out for the presence of large histiocytes with emperipolesis ; the finding is important for the diagnosis of RDD.
