Axillary Lymph Node Swelling Mimicking Breast Cancer Metastasis After COVID-19 Vaccination: A Japanese Case Report and Literature Review

COVID-19 started to spread as a pandemic in December 2019 and COVID-19 vaccination has been initiated worldwide. The efficacy of vaccination has been scientifically proven, but it might cause axillary lymph node swelling. To diagnose patients with axillary lymph node swelling caused by COVID-19 vacc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:In vivo (Athens) 2022-03, Vol.36 (2), p.1041-1046
Main Authors: Yoshimoto, Nobuyasu, Takura, Kohei, Yanagi, Akemi, Takayama, Satoru, Sakamoto, Masaki, Ishikawa, Ken, Katada, Takeyasu, Kawate, Akifumi, Takayama, Shoryu, Yamashita, Masakatsu, Yamamoto, Shinya, Yokoyama, Kioto, Kani, Hisanori
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Axilla - pathology
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Case Report
COVID-19
COVID-19 Vaccines - adverse effects
Female
Humans
Japan
Lymph Nodes - pathology
Lymphatic Metastasis - pathology
SARS-CoV-2
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
Vaccination
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Summary:COVID-19 started to spread as a pandemic in December 2019 and COVID-19 vaccination has been initiated worldwide. The efficacy of vaccination has been scientifically proven, but it might cause axillary lymph node swelling. To diagnose patients with axillary lymph node swelling caused by COVID-19 vaccination, we herein reviewed existing literature on this symptom. We report the case of a 70-year-old woman with a breast tumour. She had undergone cecum cancer surgery and regular computed tomography (CT). During breast tumour follow-up, she received scheduled CT that indicated severe axillary lymph node swelling mimicking breast cancer metastasis. We performed aspiration biopsy cytology of that lymph node, and determined this was not cancer metastasis but an effect of the COVID-19 vaccine. We confirmed this diagnosis at one month after computed tomography showed that the lymph node swelling had improved. Axillary lymph node swelling can occur after COVID-19 vaccination. Therefore, it is important to consider the effect of the COVID-19 vaccination on axillary lymph node swelling when diagnosing breast tumours.
ISSN:0258-851X
1791-7549
DOI:10.21873/invivo.12800