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Fat necrosis is a benign nonsuppurative inflammatory process of adipose tissue. Occasionally fat necrosis may mimic a breast cancer clinically, mammographically, and sonographically. There have been some previous reports on the MR imaging of the fat necrosis. In some MR findings of fat necrosis, it was difficult to distinguish it from malignant lesions. We report a case of fat necrosis presenting the irregular enhancement with the non-enhancing area of central areas on MRI.

Enlarged intramammary lymph node (LN) may be caused by inflammation [Arch. Surg. 109 (1974) 759.], reaction to dermatitis [Radiology 137 (1980) 15.], tuberculosis [Histopathology 17 (1990) 91.], foreign body such as gold [Hum. Pathol. 19 (1988) 992.], neoplasm including metastasis [Arch. Surg. 109 (1974) 759; AJR, Am J Roentgenol 146 (1986) 133.], and malignant lymphoma [AJR, Am J Roentgenol 161 (1993) 779.]. It is difficult to distinguish benign enlarged LNs from malignant lesion clinically, mammographically, and sonographically. There have been a few reports on the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of enlarged intramammary LNs in the English literature. In this article, we present a case in which dynamic MRI indicated inflammatory LNs as highly suspicious of malignancy.