Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors of the breast with simultaneous intracranial, lung, and pancreas involvement: ultrasonographic findings and a review of the literature

Abstract

We encountered a case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) of the breast with simultaneous intracranial, lung, and pancreas involvement. Here, we present the clinical imaging results and report the significance of sonographic findings of breast IMT along with a review of the literature. A 16-year-old girl with a history of subarachnoidal hemorrhage was admitted to our hospital due to tonic–clonic seizure. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple intracranial, lung, and pancreas mass lesions and a solitary mass lesion in the right breast. Breast ultrasonography showed a circumscribed oval-shaped hypoechoic mass with a central hyperechoic region. Power Doppler sonography revealed an unusual spiral-shaped flow signal. Breast tumorectomy was performed for definitive diagnosis, and pathological analysis indicated IMT. A literature review indicated that ultrasonographic findings of IMT of the breast are nonspecific, as in other systems or organs. It would be difficult to make a diagnosis of IMT of the breast preoperatively due to its rarity and the lack of specificity of clinical imaging findings. In addition, it is better to consider the possibility of IMT of the breast especially in younger patients without an obvious family history of hereditary breast cancer.