Filariasis of the breast mimicking inflammatory carcinoma

Abstract

Extranodal filariasis is a rare entity, and the breast is an uncommon site for filariasis. Patients commonly present with an underlying lump and may occasionally mimic malignancy. We present a young female who presented with skin induration over the right breast with associated right axillary lymphadenopathy, mimicking inflammatory carcinoma of the breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) from the right breast yielded many microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti, which were also present in the peripheral blood.