Congestive Heart Failure versus Inflammatory Carcinoma in Breast

Abstract

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare highly malignant form of breast cancer. Clinical signs and symptoms with histologic examination usually confirm the diagnosis. There are rare reports of breast edema of congestive heart failure which were difficult to differentiate from inflammatory carcinoma. The differential becomes more difficult when congestive heart failure is associated with unilateral breast edema. We present a case of a 70-year-old woman with congestive heart failure associated with unilateral breast edema and skin thickening simulating inflammatory breast carcinoma on mammography.