Abstract
Lupus panniculitis is an unusual immunological disease that characteristically affects the subcutaneous fat and occurs in 2% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. We report a case of lupus panniculitis involving the breast, which represents a very uncommon location. Mammographically, it presented as a suspicious irregular mass involving the subcutaneous fat pad with skin thickening. High echogenicity constituted the most relevant sonographic finding. To the best of our knowledge, the magnetic resonance (MR) features have not been previously described. High signal intensity was found on both T1- and T2-weighted precontrast MR images. A dynamic contrast-enhanced study revealed a suspicious focal mass with irregular margins and rim enhancement, with a type 3 time-signal intensity curve. Differential diagnosis with carcinoma and fat necrosis and the value of core biopsy are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rosen PP (2001) Inflammatory and reactive tumors. In: Rosen PP (ed) Rosen’s breast pathology, 2nd edn. Lippincot-Raven, Philadelphia, pp 29–63
Patricia Pei-Lin N, Suat Hoon T, Tulip T (2002) Lupus erythematosus panniculitis: a clinicopathologic study. In J Dermatol 41:488–490
Holland NW, McKnight K, Challa VR, Agudelo CA (1995) Lupus panniculitis (profundus) involving the breast: report of 2 cases and review of the literature. J Rheumatol 22:344–346
Georgian-Smith D, Lawton TJ, Moe RE, Couser WG (2002) Lupus mastitis: radiologic and pathologic features. Am J Radiol 178:1233–1235
Cernea SS, Kihara SM, Sotto MN, Vilela MAC (1993) Lupus mastitis. J Am Acad Dermatol 29:343–346
De Bandt M, Meyer O, Grossin M, Kahn MF (1993) Lupus mastitis heralding systemic lupus erythematosus with antiphospholipid syndrome. J Rheumatol 20:1217–1220
Winkelmann RK (1983) Panniculitis in connective tissue disease. Arch Dermatol 119:336–344
Peters J (2000) Lupus erythematodes profundus der brust. Zentralbl Gynakol 122:528–530
Heywang-Köbrunner SH, Beck R (1996) Appearance of various tissues and lesions. In: Heywang-Köbrunner SH, Beck R (eds) Contrast-enhanced MRI of the breast, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 57–156
Van Goethem M, Schelfout K, Kersschot E, et al (2004) Enhancing area surrounding breast carcinoma on MR mammography: comparison with pathological examination. Eur Radiol 14:1363–1370
Szabó BK, Wiberg MK, Boné B, Aspelin P (2004) Application of artificial neural networks to the analysis of dynamic MR imaging features of the breast. Eur Radiol 14:1217–1225
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sabaté, J.M., Gómez, A., Torrubia, S. et al. Lupus panniculitis involving the breast. Eur Radiol 16, 53–56 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-005-2810-1
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-005-2810-1