BILATERAL NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA OF THE BREAST MIMICKING MASTITIS

We recently encountered a case of recurrent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma man ifested after a long period of quiescence as bilateral involvement of the breasts, This 37-year-old woman had stage IVA nodular poorly diffe rentiated lymphocytic lymphoma diagnosed 9 years previously and was fo llowed up without treatment, She was lost to follow-up after 4 years b ut had been in good health until seen with malaise and fever and pain, swelling, and erythema involving both breasts, Biopsies of lymph node and bone marrow showed a high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (lymphobla stic lymphoma) of B cell origin with central nervous system involvemen t, Combination chemotherapy produced a dramatic remission, but the pat ient died of Pseudomonas septicemia.