Breast T-Lymphoblastic Lymphoma Presenting as a Single Mass in a Young Female with Family History of Breast Cancer

• Published in: International journal of surgical pathology 2022-10, Vol.30 (7), p.760-768
• Main Authors: Iqbal, Fatima, Joya Sosa, Yocelin, Kramer-Smotherman, Danielle N., Posleman Monetto, Flavia E., Dong, Jianli, He, Jing, Musunuru, Tejo, Schlette, Ellen J., Lyapichev, Kirill A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Chemotherapy; Family medical history; Leukemia; Lymphoma
• ISSN: 1066-8969; 1940-2465
• DOI: 10.1177/10668969221080079

Breast involvement by lymphoma is rare, constituting ≤0.5% of all breast malignancies, with T-cell lymphomas, comprising 2.5 to 7.5% of all lymphomas involving breast. Several types of T-cell lymphomas have been reported in breast, including anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified, adult T-cell lymphoma/leukemia, NK/T-cell lymphoma, and T-lymphoblastic lymphoma. Breast involvement by T-lymphoblastic lymphoma is very unusual and when it is observed, it usually occurs as a secondary involvement by known lymphoma. We report the case of a 33-year-old woman with family history of breast cancer who presented with a single right breast mass which was diagnosed as T-lymphoblastic lymphoma. At presentation, the patient was feeling well and did not have any B symptoms or any other signs of lymphoma or leukemia. One month after diagnosis, the patient presented to the emergency room with chest pain and shortness of breath and was found to have a large mediastinal mass with both pleural and pericardial effusions. Subsequent evaluation of peripheral blood smear and bone marrow biopsy showed increased amount of blasts and involvement by T-lymphoblastic lymphoma. The patient was induced with cyclophosphamide, vincristine sulfate, doxorubicin hydrochloride, and dexamethasone chemotherapy. After two-cycles of chemotherapy, a computed tomography of the thorax showed marked interval decrease in size of anterior mediastinal mass, suggestive of positive treatment response. Here, we report the first well documented case of T-lymphoblastic lymphoma presented as a single breast mass without history of B symptoms and perform an extensive English language literature review.