A Mass Beside a BioZorb Implant Was Fat Necrosis, Not Recurrence
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2-negative.
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- surgery, radiation and surveillance
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- Left breast lumpectomy with BioZorb placement and negative sentinel-node biopsy was performed.
- Postoperative radiation was completed.
- Mammographic surveillance was performed every six months.
- A new 1.8 cm mass at 2.5 years was biopsied and showed fat necrosis.
- Six-month follow-up imaging was recommended.
What happened, in summary
A 53-year-old woman had a 9 mm spiculated mass detected at the 11 o’clock position of the left breast. Biopsy showed grade 2 invasive ductal carcinoma that was ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative.
She underwent lumpectomy with placement of a BioZorb marker. Sentinel-node biopsy was negative, and postoperative radiation followed. The treated breast was monitored with mammography every six months.
Two and a half years after surgery, surveillance imaging identified a new 1.8 cm circumscribed mass lateral and above the BioZorb implant at the 12 o’clock position. Because the mass was new and close to the prior cancer site, ultrasound-guided biopsy was recommended.
Pathology showed fat necrosis, and the benign result was considered consistent with the imaging findings. A six-month follow-up mammogram was recommended. Her experience reflects the diagnostic uncertainty that can arise when healing, fat necrosis, and device-related changes develop near a lumpectomy bed during routine breast-cancer surveillance.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
Collections this story belongs to
- ER Positive Breast Cancer 242 stories
- Lumpectomy for Breast Cancer 208 stories
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer