Table of Contents
Definition / general | Clinical features | Radiology images | Case reports | Clinical images | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Cytology description | Differential diagnosis | Additional referencesCite this page: Nassar H Sarcoidosis. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/breastsarcoidosis.html. Accessed February 17th, 2019.
Definition / general
- Idiopathic systemic granulomatous disorder of noncaseating, epithelioid granulomas with multinucleated giant cells
- Usually involves lungs with fibrosis; also lymph nodes, skin, liver, spleen, phalanges, bones, parotid gland
- Rare in breast; either begins in breast or part of known disease
Clinical features
- Abnormal breast examinations or mammograms present in 2% of sarcoidosis patients, granulomas in 1% (Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2001;18:301)
- Occasionally begins in breast and remains localized for long periods
- May mimic metastatic breast cancer (Clin Breast Cancer 2007;7:804)
Case reports
- 41 year old woman with unusual presentation of sarcoidosis of the breast (Br J Radiol 2008;81:e231)
- 51 year old woman with sarcoidosis of the breast (Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2006;10:47)
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Noncaseating, epithelioid granulomas with multinucleated giant cells
- No / rare necrosis
Microscopic (histologic) images
Cytology description
- Epithelioid cells and lymphocytes
Differential diagnosis
- Foreign material
- Fungi
- Granulomatous mastitis
- Mycobacteria
Additional references