ABSTRACT
Primary malignant lymphoma of the breast is a rare entity, representing less than 0.5% of all malignant breast tumors and less than 1% of all malignant lymphomas. Diagnostic procedures for primary breast lymphomas include radiological examination radioisotope imaging fine needle aspiration cytology, and histopathological biopsy. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of the breast is predominantly a disease of older patients, with a median age at diagnosis of 64 years old. Patterns of relapse seen in almost all studies of primary DLBCL of the breast are distinctly different from those seen in patients presenting with a nodal DLBCL. The follicular subtype seems to be the more common histology, accounting for approximately 10–15% of all low-grade breast lymphomas. Clinical presentation and investigation of the ‘low-grade’ variants is similar to that of primary DLBCL of the breast, although follicular lymphomas tend to occur at a later age, with a median age at diagnosis around 10 years older.
