Case of Breast Cancer Discovered by Repeated Hematomas After Blunt Trauma to the Breast

Abstract

Background: Breast hematoma is a manifestation of blunt force injury to the breast. Hematomas without obvious clinical complications were treated conservatively and most of them were self-healing. If there is no history of tumor and no need for emergency treatment, the possibility of tumor is often ignored by clinicians due to the history of trauma. The repeated hematoma in this case did not attract the attention of the clinician, and the lack of cytological and histological examination is a mistake. This case gives us more clues that recurrent hematomas in the breast need to be looked for abnormal causes.Case presentation: This study describes a 62-year-old woman who underwent 6 times of puncture drainage and local compression bandaging for a breast hematoma caused by blunt chest trauma. After each treatment, hematoma was restored to its original size and about 200 ml of blood was drained each time. Hematoma resection was performed 7 months later and the patient was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cytology and histological examination were not performed during the seven months, and patient’s early diagnosis and treatment were delayed. Conclusions: Recurring hematoma of the breast requires active search for the cause of abnormal bleeding, and tumor bleeding is a key point that cannot be ignored.