ALOPECIA-NEOPLASTICA SIMULATING ALOPECIA-AREATA AND ANTEDATING THE DETECTION OF PRIMARY BREAST-CARCINOMA

A woman with no previous history of breast carcinoma presented with fo cal hair loss, which was presumptively diagnosed as alopecia areata. A fter treatment failures, a scalp biopsy was performed, which subsequen tly led to the diagnosis of breast carcinoma. This case illustrates th e subtle course which breast cancer can take and the insidious manner in which it may present. It alerts clinicians and pathologists to the possibility of secondary causes, including malignancy, in the differen tial diagnosis of alopecia refractory to usual treatments.