Abstract
A case of right breast cancer with von Recklinghausen's disease is reported, together with a review of another 13 cases seen in the Japanese literature. A 72-year-old woman came to the hospital because of a right painless breast mass. There was a history of having a number of tumors in the whole body since her childhood. Biopsy offered a diagnosis of breast cancer. Right radical mastectomy was carried out. It was a breast cancer of t2n1αm0 in stage II.
Though von Recklinghausen disease is benign, its association with malignant tumors is often reported. Especially, in an association with a breast cancer, the detection of the breast cancer is often delayed because of the neighboring locations of both lesions. Among domestic cases-reported, no survivors for more than 4 years have been seen. Accordingly, when we encounter von Recklinghausen disease, systemic and careful exploration is essential, especially for possible association of breast cancer which is liable to be overlooked due to skin lesions.
