Spectrum of Extramammary Malignant Neoplasms in the Breast With Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation

Abstract

Although primary breast cancer is the most common malignancy identified by breast imaging, extramammary malignancies may also rarely be encountered. These uncommon lesions may reflect primary neoplasms of nonmammary origin as well as secondary metastatic lesions, and include lymphoma, melanoma, neuroendocrine tumors, gastrointestinal tract malignancies, and angiosarcoma among other entities. Malignant extramammary breast lesions may be encountered during routine mammographic screening, identified during the diagnostic evaluation of a palpable breast abnormality, or may be detected incidentally during imaging of other organs of interest. As such, the radiologist should have familiarity with the appearance of these lesions. This article focuses on a review of several of the most common extramammary metastases to the breast, as well as a few lesions that may develop as either primary or secondary lesions.