Infarction of the mammary recion mimicking carcinoma of the breast

A case of infarction of the axillary tail of the breast in a 76-year-old woman is presented. The main pathologic findings consisted of massive ischemic fat necrosis excluding the skin, associated with a nonspecific panarteritis, focal endarteritis obliterans, and inflammation of small veins. A review of the literature was conducted, following which the clinico-pathologic findings were grouped into two broad categories, depending on whether the cases mimicked carcinoma or not. A number of common patterns emerged in each group, prompting the proposal of a clinico-pathologic classification for these entities.