Breast involvement in mixed connective tissue disease

• Main Authors: Ross Varma, MD, Sandor Szilagyi, MD, Manju Harshan, MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-04-01
• Series: Radiology Case Reports
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S193004331730465X
• ISSN: 1930-0433

To date, mammographic involvement in mixed connective tissue disease has not been described in the literature to the authors’ knowledge. In addition, only 2 case reports have described panniculitis in mixed connective tissue disease. We present a patient with mixed connective tissue disease with coarse sheet-like calcifications on mammography bilaterally, which increased over time corresponding to rise in levels of anti-dsDNA. Biopsy showed fat necrosis with calcifications, chronic inflammation and fibrosis, vasculitis, as well as CD3, CD4, and CD8+ T cells and CD20+ B cells. These findings are similar histologically and mammographically to “lupus mastitis.” Keywords: MCTD, Mixed connective tissue disease, Mastitis, Lupus mastitis, MCTD panniculitis, Mammography