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Obesity obscuring breast cancer: A case report
Author(s) -
Ariel Irving M.,
Greenberg Joseph
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.2930090108
Subject(s) - medicine , palpation , breast cancer , parenchyma , obesity , lesion , mammography , weight loss , fat pad , cancer , radiology , surgery , adipose tissue , pathology
There is normally a layer of fat in the breast between the parenchyma of the breast and the skin. This is frequently thin and does not preclude the palpation of a tumor mass which involves the breast parenchyma. In patients suffering from obesity this fat pad becomes much thicker and obscures any underlying masses arising from the breast parenchyma. A case is reported in which a woman who was markedly obese lost a significant amount of weight and presented a bulge which was found to be carcinoma. This situation, in which fat obscures underlying breast lesion, has been observed in a number of patients. Attention is called to the limited value of physical examination of the breast in markedly obese patients. If any suspicion exists or if the patient is a candidate for cancer from a familial standpoint, mammograms are indicated.