THE COEXISTENCE OF TUBERCULOSIS AND CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST (CASE REPORT)

The coexistence of tuberculosis and carcinoma of the breast is an extremely rare condition. Up to now, only 9 cases have been reported in Japan. A 57-year-old woman who had had painless tumors extirpated twice, 14 and 11 years previously, and who was diagnosed as having mammary tuberculosis, was admitted to our hospital for a lump in her right axilla. The tumor (20×12×10mm) was removed and histologically diagnosed as lymph node metastasis of mammary cancer with tuberculosis. We then reinvestigated the specimen which had been extirpated 14 years previously and identified the presence of not only tuberculosis but also cancer. Standard radical mastectomy of her right breast was performed, in which resting cancer cell nests were seen scattered in the extirpation scar. Ten months later, she received antimicrobial treatment with INAH, RFP and streptmycin for 3 months. She then became aware of three small nodules on the operation scar. All of these were excised and ascertained to be local recurrences of the cancer. After this, 12 nodules in all were subsequently excised but the patient is now in good health, 3 years and 7 months after radical mastectomy. These facts suggest that the activity of her breast cancer may be controlled by the tuberculosis.