Primary Burkitt's lymphoma of the breast without Epstein-Barr virus infection: A case report and literature review

Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2015 Oct-Dec;58(4):546-9. doi: 10.4103/0377-4929.168863.

Abstract

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive neoplasm, which arising from the germinal center or post germinal center B-cell. Primary breast lymphomas are extremely rare, and the most common histologic type is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Primary BL of the breast is much less common than the other types of lymphoma. Here, we report an extremely rare case of a 37-year-old Chinese female with localized bilateral breast, who was referred to our institution for bilateral breast swelling. The left breast tissue ultrasonography showed the short axis measuring 20.3 mm × 18.8 mm and the long axis measuring 22.1 mm × 20.8 mm soft tissue mass. The right breast tissue ultrasonography showed the short axis measuring 30.2 mm × 26.9 mm and the long axis measuring 33.5 mm × 2.18 mm. Coarse needle biopsy of breast masses demonstrated a non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma. The patient underwent a bilateral mastectomy. Histological examination of the tumor showed a characteristic "starry sky" pattern, the medium-sized tumor cells were a monotonous pattern of growth, and there were many abnormal mitotic figures. The neoplastic cells strongly expressed CD20, CD79-μ, MUM-1, PAX-5, CD43 and Bcl-6, Ki-67 were nearly 100% positive, but negative for CD10, Bcl-2 and TdT. By fluorescence in situ hybridization an IGH-MYC gene fusion was detected in the tumor tissue which indicating the presence of a typical BL translocation t(8;14)(q24;q32). The final histopathological diagnosis was primary BL of the breast.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism*
  • Breast / metabolism
  • Breast / pathology
  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Breast Neoplasms / surgery
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / diagnosis*
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / genetics
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / metabolism
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / surgery
  • Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / diagnosis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / diagnosis*
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / genetics
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / metabolism
  • Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / surgery
  • Oncogene Fusion
  • Translocation, Genetic*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor