Pleomorphic adenoma is a very rare benign tumor of the breast. Only 70 cases have been reported in the world literature. Recently, we encountered a case of pleomorphic adenoma of the breast and thus present here the mammographic and ultrasonographic findings with the pathology of this rare breast tumor. The patient was a 76-year-old Japanese woman with a right breast mass. The mammography showed a 1.5-cm, lobulated high-density mass with partially ill-defined margins. Ultrasonography revealed an irregularly shaped mass with partially ill defined borders, hypoechoic and heterogeneous internal echoes, and posterior acoustic enhancement. These findings suggested an invasive carcinoma. Awareness of this type of tumor will help in correct diagnosis, in spite of the rarity of this disease.

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Objective: To evaluate the advantage of upright position imaging with a medium-energy collimator for the detection of sentinel lymph node (SLN). Methods: Thirty-four patients with operable breast cancer underwent sentinel node lymphoscintigraphy with 99m Tc-tin colloid. Images were obtained in 5 different positions and paired images from the same patient were compared using side-by-side interpretation. Images were compared in 3 groups: group 1 (anterior view); supine (SAV) vs. upright (UAV), group 2 (oblique view); supine (SOV) vs. upright (UOV), and group 3 (oblique view); modified supine (MOV) vs. UOV. Image quality was evaluated using a 3-grade scale of clear, faint, and equivocal depiction, and correlated to 3 parameters: distance from injection site to lymph node (hot node), counts in hot node, and image contrast. Parameters in group 1 were compared by classifying the primary tumor site into 4 subregions. Results: Image quality in all 3 groups was more enhanced on the image obtained in the upright position than that in the supine position. Obtaining images in an upright position increased the mean distances by 1.5-3.2 cm, and mean contrasts were significantly increased by 0.13-0.31 (p < 0.05). It was shown that image quality was more greatly affected by image contrast than by counts in the hot node. Image contrast of 0.5 seemed an appropriate threshold level for detection of the hot node. On comparison of tumor sites, the upper outer quadrant (C) region of the 4 subregions demonstrated greater contrast enhancement on upright position images. Conclusion: Clinical images obtained in an upright position with a mediumenergy collimator were superior to those obtained in a supine position. Use of this procedure is recommended to enhance lymph node detection on sentinel node lymphoscintigraphy.

To assess the presence and location of presynaptic myocardial sympathetic abnormality in patients with vasospastic angina, iodine-123 labelled metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) single-photon emission tomography (SPET) was performed. Fifty patients suspected of having vasospastic angina pectoris were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent a provocative test with intracoronary ergonovine infusion during coronary angiography, in which 99%-100% obstructive spasm was defined as a positive result. Twenty-five patients were diagnosed as having vasospastic angina based on a positive provocative test. MIBG SPET was performed at 20 min and 3 h after administration of 111 MBq or MIBG. On early images, only 5 of 25 patients with vasospastic angina showed a mild reduction in MIBG uptake, whereas 3-h delayed images demonstrated MIBG abnormality in 20 patients (80%). The location of the MIBG abnormality was completely or partially consistent with the spastic coronary territory in 18 patients. On the other hand, only 4 of 25 patients (16%) with negative provocative test demonstrated reduced MIBG uptake. Accordingly, positive and negative predictive values of MIBG SPET for the provocative test were 83% (20/24) and 81% (21/26) respectively. In conclusion, MIBG scintigraphy with SPET can permit the non-invasive detection and evaluation of suspected vasospastic angina.

Glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma (GRCC) of the breast is a rare malignant breast tumor. We recently encountered a case of GRCC and report our imaging findings here. The patient was a 49-year-old woman with a mass in her right breast. Mammographic study showed no definite mass shadow because the breast was dense. No calcifications were identified. Ultrasonography disclosed a hypoechoic mass that had a diameter of 1.3 cm, partially irregular borders, heterogeneous internal echoes, and posterior acoustic enhancement, suggesting an invasive carcinoma. Histologic study of core needle biopsy specimens showed a solid proliferation of large clear carcinoma cells, suggestive of a ductal carcinoma. The carcinoma cells possessed clear cytoplasm larger than that typical of ductal carcinoma cells. Breast-conserving surgery was performed with axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy. Macroscopically, the tumor was a solid, white-yellow mass with fairly well defined margins. Histologic examination of the tumor showed a characteristic feature of GRCC: the tumor cells were positive for estrogen receptor but negative for progesterone receptor and Her 2, and the sentinel lymph node was histologically negative. The patient remains well and has had no clinical recurrence of the disease after 2.5 years of follow-up without radiotherapy or adjuvant therapy. Noteworthy is the usefulness of mammography and ultrasonography, which should be used as complementary imaging tools.