Hematoma Mimicking Breast Cancer on CT Scan and Breast Ultrasound

There are many benign breast lesions that mimic breast cancer on breast imaging. Postlumpectomy scar, hematoma, fat necrosis, diabetic mastopathy, and granulomatous mastitis are examples of benign breast lesions that have suspicious breast imaging findings. Mammogram and breast ultrasound are the imaging studies to evaluate breast findings. CT scan is not used to evaluate breast findings because it delivers high radiation dose to the breast, and breast tissue is often confused as breast masses on CT scan. The following case demonstrates an incidentally detected breast mass on CT scan performed to assess for pulmonary embolism. The CT scan and subsequent breast ultrasound both demonstrated suspicious breast imaging findings. Final pathology from ultrasound-guided biopsy revealed hematoma. This benign finding was concordant with the patient’s medical history of cirrhosis with low platelet count and medication history of warfarin.