What happened, in summary

A 58-year-old woman arrived with a pathology report from the Dominican Republic showing invasive mammary carcinoma. Imaging at the treating institution found an 8 mm mass at the 7 o’clock position of the right breast. Repeat biopsy confirmed grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma that was ER-negative, PR-negative, and HER2-negative.

She underwent right lumpectomy with placement of a BioZorb marker, and sentinel-node biopsy was negative. Chemoradiation therapy followed. The treated breast was then monitored with mammography every six months.

Three years after surgery, surveillance imaging showed a new focal asymmetry adjacent to the BioZorb site. Because the change was close to the prior triple-negative tumor bed, biopsy was needed to distinguish recurrence from postoperative change.

Pathology showed fibrosis with foreign-body material and sheets of histiocytes. The result was considered concordant with imaging and represented a benign reaction around the surgical device rather than recurrent breast cancer. The case demonstrates how device-related fibrosis can create a new mammographic finding years after breast-conserving treatment.