Giant Ulcerative Lactating Nodule of Ectopic Breast Mimicking Malignancy.

Objective: Lactating nodules occur in the pregnant and post partum patient and require investigation to rule out the possibility of a malignancy The aim of this paper is to document occurrence of a rare case of ectopic breast mass in a post-partum woman that mimicked malignancy and proved to be a diagnostic challenge both clinically and cytologically, in order to sensitize physicians to such cases.
Design and Setting: Case description, including clinical and pathological features, of a patient seen in Surgical Camp, Hoima, in September 2005.
Case Report: A 22 year old woman presented 3 months post-partum with a huge, rapidly growing and ulcerating axillary mass. Both the clinical impression and fine needle aspiration cytology suggested malignancy. However, resection followed by macroscopic and histopathologic study proved it to be a giant ulcerating but benign lactating nodule of ectopic breast.
Conclusion: Physicians should be aware that a benign lactating nodule in pregnant or post-partum patients can mimic breast carcinoma, either in the breast or in an ectopic location. Histopathologic study is mandatory to assess such lesions in order to render an accurate diagnosis.