A rare case of anterior chest wall schwannoma masquerading as a breast tumor

Abstract

A schwannoma is a tumor that develops on peripheral nerves or spinal roots. Although any part of the body can be affected, the breast is a quite unusual site for schwannomas. We report herein a case of schwannoma presenting as a breast tumor. In the current case, the tumor showed both clinically and mammographically as a well-defined breast mass. Of interest, sonographically, the well-defined mass appeared to be located in subcutaneous tissue, not in breast parenchyma, and this finding was confirmed histopathologically. These findings indicate the possibility that a schwannoma arising from subcutaneous breast tissue can show exophytic growth to the breast and appear as a breast tumor. In other words, our case implies the possible presence of a "pseudo" breast schwannoma. © 2014 Fujii et al.