Malignant transformation of Madelung's disease in a patient with a coincidental diagnosis of breast cancer: A case report

Abstract

Madelung's disease or multiple symmetric lipomatosis (MSL) is a rare disorder of unknown etiology which typically presents symmetrically subcutaneous accumulation of non-encapsulated adipose tissue which slowly grows around the neck, upper part of the arms, pelvis, back and thigh. This disease is also frequently associated with hepatopathy, glucose intolerance, hyperuricemia, and malignant tumors of the upper airways. Nevertheless, only one description of malignant transformation of Madelung's disease has been presented in literature. Here, we report a case of liposarcomatous transformation of Madelung's disease in a 59-year-old Italian woman with a coincidental diagnosis of breast cancer.The virtual slide for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/3480884087499351. © 2012 Borriello et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.