Hematologic breast malignancies: a single-institution cohort study of 24 patients diagnosed between January 2008 and June 2023, with clinicopathological and outcome analysis
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Reina Sofía
- 2Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute (IMIBIC)
- 3University of Córdoba
- 4Department of Hematology, University Hospital Virgen Macarena
- 5Department of Hematology, University Hospital Reina Sofía
- 6Department of Pathology, University Hospital Reina Sofía
Abstract
Hematologic breast malignancies (HBM) are rare and heterogeneous neoplasms that account for less than 1% of breast malignancies and may clinically and morphologically mimic primary breast carcinoma. We retrospectively analyzed 24 patients diagnosed with HBM at a single tertiary institution between January 2008 and June 2023 to describe their clinicopathological characteristics, treatment patterns and outcomes. The mean age at diagnosis was 60.3 ± 19.8 years, and the median age was 60.5 years (IQR 53.0–75.5); 23 patients (95.8%) were women. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most frequent subtype (n=8, 33.3%), followed by MALT lymphoma (n=5, 20.8%). Based on the clinical and staging information retrospectively available, 21 cases (87.5%) were classified as primary breast involvement and 3 (12.5%) as secondary involvement. All diagnoses were established by image-guided core needle biopsy. Systemic chemotherapy was administered to 19 patients (79.2%), radiotherapy to 9 (37.5%), and mastectomy to 2 (8.3%); the remaining 22 patients were managed without breast resection. After a crude median observed duration of 86.9 months (range 7.9–217.6), 11 patients (45.8%) had experienced progression or relapse and 13 (54.2%) had died. Only 3 deaths were attributed to progression of the hematologic malignancy. Median overall survival was 115.7 months (95% CI 54.9–not reached), whereas disease-specific survival was not reached. These findings highlight the importance of core needle biopsy and appropriate hematolymphoid lineage assessment in avoiding unnecessary breast surgery. Outcomes should be interpreted descriptively given the small, histologically heterogeneous cohort and the limitations inherent to its retrospective design.
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BibTeX
@article{navarro2026hematologic,
title = {{Hematologic breast malignancies: a single-institution cohort study of 24 patients diagnosed between January 2008 and June 2023, with clinicopathological and outcome analysis}},
author = {Lucia Navarro and María de la Haba and Pablo Flores-Paco and Víctor Atance and Francisco José Jiménez Nájar and Sergio Haro-Yuste and Fernando Leiva-Cepas and Concepción Herrera Arroyo and Cristina Morales-Estevez and Enrique Aranda and Juan de la Haba-Rodríguez},
journal = {Frontiers in Oncology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fonc.2026.1925669},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2026.1925669/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hematologic breast malignancies: a single-institution cohort study of 24 patients diagnosed between January 2008 and June 2023, with clinicopathological and outcome analysis
AU - Lucia Navarro
AU - María de la Haba
AU - Pablo Flores-Paco
AU - Víctor Atance
AU - Francisco José Jiménez Nájar
AU - Sergio Haro-Yuste
AU - Fernando Leiva-Cepas
AU - Concepción Herrera Arroyo
AU - Cristina Morales-Estevez
AU - Enrique Aranda
AU - Juan de la Haba-Rodríguez
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Oncology
DO - 10.3389/fonc.2026.1925669
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2026.1925669/full
AB - Hematologic breast malignancies (HBM) are rare and heterogeneous neoplasms that account for less than 1% of breast malignancies and may clinically and morphologically mimic primary breast carcinoma. We retrospectively analyzed 24 patients diagnosed with HBM at a single tertiary institution between January 2008 and June 2023 to describe their clinicopathological characteristics, treatment patterns and outcomes. The mean age at diagnosis was 60.3 ± 19.8 years, and the median age was 60.5 years (IQR 53.0–75.5); 23 patients (95.8%) were women. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most frequent subtype (n=8, 33.3%), followed by MALT lymphoma (n=5, 20.8%). Based on the clinical and staging information retrospectively available, 21 cases (87.5%) were classified as primary breast involvement and 3 (12.5%) as secondary involvement. All diagnoses were established by image-guided core needle biopsy. Systemic chemotherapy was administered to 19 patients (79.2%), radiotherapy to 9 (37.5%), and mastectomy to 2 (8.3%); the remaining 22 patients were managed without breast resection. After a crude median observed duration of 86.9 months (range 7.9–217.6), 11 patients (45.8%) had experienced progression or relapse and 13 (54.2%) had died. Only 3 deaths were attributed to progression of the hematologic malignancy. Median overall survival was 115.7 months (95% CI 54.9–not reached), whereas disease-specific survival was not reached. These findings highlight the importance of core needle biopsy and appropriate hematolymphoid lineage assessment in avoiding unnecessary breast surgery. Outcomes should be interpreted descriptively given the small, histologically heterogeneous cohort and the limitations inherent to its retrospective design.
SN - 2234-943X
ER -