Bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy (differential)

Bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy can result from a number of causes and generally implies a systemic process. They include:

• autoimmune diseases, e.g.:
  • rheumatoid arthritis
  • scleroderma
  • dermatomyositis ⁵
  • systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
  • psoriasis
  • Sjögren syndrome
• lymphoma
• leukaemia
• diabetic mastopathy ² 
• HIV associated conditions, e.g. Kaposi sarcoma associated immmune reconstitution syndrome ¹
• lymphoid hyperplasia from acute or chronic infection/inflammation
  • infectious mononucleosis
  • cat stratch disease
• granulomatous disease
  • sarcoidosis
  • tuberculosis
  • silicone induced granulomatous adenitis
• axillary nodal metastases, e.g.:
  • breast cancer: uncommon to be bilateral
  • non-breast malignancies
    • lung cancer
    • melanoma
• Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease ⁴

See also

• differential diagnosis of unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy
• differential diagnosis of calcific axillary lymphadenopathy
• axillary lymph nodes