retro-pectoral hemangioma in a male patient: report of a case.

Abstract

Breast hemangioma is a rare benign tumor in female and extremely rare in males. They are part of vascular tumors. Here, we described the case of a male patient who had a breast hemangioma for 30 years that was diagnosed incidentally in a thorax and abdomen tomography.

Introduction

The hemangioma is a rare benign tumor of the breast in females and an extremely rare tumor in male breast [1], [2], with unknown incidence [1] and very few cases reported in the literature. The hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors composed of dilated vascular channels lined with flattened endothelial cells without atypia [3].

Case Presentation

We present the case of 54-year-old male who was admitted to the Emergency department for 40°C fever, severe headache, diarrhea, and diffuse abdominal pain. The patient had pain and tenderness in the right upper abdominal quadrant to palpation, with normal vital signs.

Discussion

Breast hemangiomas are found in 1.2% of mastectomy specimens and 11% of postmortem specimens of the female breast [6]. Recordings of breast hemangioma in the male breast are limited to very few reports, thus an exact incidence can´t be determined.

Clinical Features

Clinical diagnosis is difficult, the most common symptom is the presence of a palpable mass on the breast [4]. Even if the lesion is associated with change of the color of skin, the most common diagnosis in this setting is angiosarcoma [8].

Imaging features

Hemangiomas may be seen in mammographic series, appearing as a round or oval masses with sharp margins that may or may not contain calcifications [1], [2]. When present, calcifications can be fine or coarse [7].

Conclusion

The hemangioma is an extremely rare benign tumor of the breast in males with very few cases reported in the literature. Because imaging features are nonspecific the differential diagnosis is broad and may include benign and malignant lesions, usually requiring tissue sampling for a definite diagnosis.