Lara Hardesty, MD

A 55-year-old perimenopausal woman presented with a palpable lump in her left breast. Diagnostic mammogram showed a 1.8-cm spiculated mass with scattered microcalcifications within the mass. Comparison with her most recent prior mammogram (about 9 months earlier) showed this to be a new mass.

We present a case of intracystic papillary carcinoma of the breast associated with low-grade ductal carcinoma in situ in a young woman. This is a distinct subtype of intraductal carcinoma that typically presents in postmenopausal women with a favorable prognosis.