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Lymphedema (LE) in a breast cancer patient usually results from axillary lymph node dissection, sentinel lymph node biopsy, and/or axillary radiotherapy. Although lymphatic obstruction and consequent LE can occur due to axillary lymph node involvement, such presentation in breast cancer patients has rarely been reported. This report describes the case of a 50-year-old lady with right breast carcinoma who presented with right upper limb lymphedema. Surprisingly, she did not have any bulky axillary lymphadenopathy that could have accounted for lymphedema of the upper limb, but a suspicious breast mass was present on clinical examination. Diagnosis of breast cancer on clinical examination can be challenging in such patients due to breast edema and careful imaging of the breast and axilla with appropriate imaging tools (mammogram, ultrasound, MRI, PET mammography) should be resorted to before excluding malignancy. Lymphoscintigraphy confirmed the findings of lymphedema in the right upper limb and revealed uptake in the epitrochlear lymph nodes of the contralateral limb suggesting that she might had pre-existing widespread "subclinical lymphedema" which presented as "clinical lymphedema" in right upper limb after axillary lymph node/lymphatic involvement by right breast carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased utilization of chemotherapy in breast cancer patients has led to improved survival outcomes but it has also resulted in rising incidence of adverse effects. Occurrence of new/unreported side effect poses challenge in front of clinicians. We report the case of a 53-year lady with locally advanced, hormone receptor-positive, and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER-2) negative right breast carcinoma. She was started on neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) (doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide), to facilitate breast-conserving surgery. She developed an inflammatory reaction involving the affected breast after each of three cycles of NACT (2 cycles of doxorubicin & cyclophosphamide, and 1 cycle of docetaxel). Infectious causes and disease progression were ruled out. She was then prescribed hormone therapy but the disease progressed after three months of therapy and the patient had to be subjected to modified radical mastectomy (MRM). She then received adjuvant radiotherapy and is currently doing well on second-line hormone therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]