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Case report: Metaplastic carcinoma presenting as a breast abscess

Corrine Wong1 email, Chris Wright2 email, Angela Colclough3 email and Simon Marsh4 email

SHO in Surgery, Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust, Department of Surgery, Colchester General Hospital, Turner Road, Colchester, Essex, CO4 5JL, UK

SHO in Surgery, Department of Surgery, Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust, Colchester General Hospital, Turner Road, Colchester, Essex, CO4 5JL, UK

Consultant Pathologist, Department of Histopathology, Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust, Colchester General Hospital, Turner Road, Colchester, Essex, CO4 5JL, UK

Consultant Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust, Colchester General Hospital, Turner Road, Colchester, Essex, CO4 5JL, UK

author email corresponding author email

International Seminars in Surgical Oncology 2006, 3:23doi:10.1186/1477-7800-3-23

Published: 2 September 2006

Abstract

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare neoplasm containing a mixture of epithelial and mesenchymal elements. The epithelial component is usually ductal carcinoma but may include other variants of breast carcinomas including squamous carcinoma and osteogenic sarcoma. There is a relative paucity of data regarding such tumours. Metaplastic carcinoma carries a prognosis not dissimilar to that of comparable ductal carcinoma. This is the case of a 57 year old patient with MBC presenting with a breast abscess. A thorough literature search has not revealed any previous reports of MBC presenting as a breast abscess.


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