The presence of skin thickening on mammography is variably defined, usually being more than 2 mm in thickness. It can result from a number of both benign and malignant causes. They include:
Malignant
inflammatory breast cancer: one of the most concerning causes of skin thickening: this usually gives diffuse skin thickening
locally invasive breast cancer: tends to give focal skin thickening
lymphatic obstruction of metastatic axillary nodes
certain metastases to the breast
Benign
infection: mastitis
-
conditions causing fluid build up in the breast: tends to be bilateral although at times can be asymmetrical if the patient has been lying on a particular side prior to the mammogram
-
trauma to the breast
burns to the skin overlying the breast with scarring
breast irradiation: tends to be most prominent around 6 months after irradiation
-
certain dermatological conditions
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.