Role of core needle biopsy in primary breast lymphoma

Primary breast lymphoma (PBL) may mimic carcinoma clinically and also mammographic and ecographic distinction is subtle. Despite its rarity, incidence of PBLs has increased over the last four decades and continues to increase for younger women and for some subtypes, and for this reason it is increasingly important to achieve a preoperative pathological diagnosis using core needle biopsy (CNB) or fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNA). The aim of this retrospective study was to report our single-center experience in CNBs performed for histological diagnosis of PBL compared to FNA. From a total of 10,500 CNBs we found seven patients affected by PBL diagnosed at Careggi Florence University Hospital, between January 2000 and December 2016. Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was the most frequent PBLs and on CNBs specimens was possible do the fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis to evaluate the presence of chromosomal translocation. CNB is an effective method for the assessment of PBLs, especially for DLBCL, in which a correct and fast classification could change the therapeutic approach and the prognosis.