Misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer

Alternative diagnoses list for Breast Cancer:

For a diagnosis of Breast Cancer, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Breast Cancer:

• Normal breasts - not all breast lumps are abnormal; breast changes can also occur from aging, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, oral contraceptives, and other reasons.
  • Aging - may cause breast changes
  • Menstrual cycle - may cause swollen or tender breasts.
  • Pregnancy - breast changes occur from pregnancy
  • Menopause
  • Birth control pills
  • Hormone therapies
• Benign breast disease
• Breast cyst (type of Cyst)
• Breast abscess
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Breast fibroadenoma
• Mastititis - mainly in breast-feeding women
• Gynecomastia - in men (note that men can also get breast cancer)
• Fibrocystic disease
• Fibroadenoma
• Intraductal papilloma
• Lipoma
• Fat necrosis
• Phyllodes tumour
• Cyst
• Breast cancer

Diseases for which Breast Cancer may be an alternative diagnosis

The other diseases for which Breast Cancer is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:

• Breast abscess
• Breast Cancer
• Breast fibroadenoma
• Fibroadenoma
• Fibrocystic breast disease
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Gynecomastia
• Inflammatory breast cancer
• Mastalgia
• Mastitis
• Secondary Bone Cancer

Discussion of diagnosis/misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer:

My 9-year-old daughter has developed a lump in her breast, but it is only on one side. Is this normal?

What you see as a lump is probably normal breast development. Breast development is usually the first sign of puberty, beginning between eight and fourteen years. It is common for one breast to begin to develop first. The second breast may not begin for up to six months after the first. You and your daughter should not be concerned.

The standard measure for pubescent breast development is called the Tanner stages. This scale identifies five developmental stages. In stage one a slight elevation of one or both nipples appears. Stage two is the breast bud stage characterized by elevation of the breast and nipple into a small mound. The diameter of the areola will also increase. It is likely that your daughter is entering the breast budding stage. The final three stages will produce more enlargement and definition of the breasts' shape until they reach full maturity at stage five. (Source: excerpt from Puberty: NWHIC)

Common Misdiagnoses and Breast Cancer

Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease is often over-diagnosed. Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's, whereas there are many other less severe possibilities. Some level of memory decline is normal with aging, and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's. Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness. For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease, it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs that the elderly patient may be taking. There are also various other possible causes of dementia.

Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer. Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue, such as with a breast rash with redness and warmth, but not necessarily a physical breast lump. This type of breast cancer should be considered as an uncommon possibility for certain types of breast symptoms.

Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease. The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor, which is mostly harmless. see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Spitz nevi misdiagnosed as dangerous melanoma skin cancer: One possible misdiagnosis to consider in lieu of melanoma is spitz nevi. See melanoma and spitz nevi.

Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's. The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years, and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50. See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Dermatomyositis in breast cancer: Dermatomyositis is a serious connective-tissue disease related to polymyositis that is characterized by inflammation of the muscles and the skin. The cause is unknown, but it may result from either a viral infection or an autoimmune reaction. Some cases of dermatomyositis may overlap with another autoimmune disease such as lupus, scleroderma, or vasculitis The main symptoms include skin rash and symmetric proximal muscle weakness which may be accompanied by pain. Skin findings occur in DM but not PM and are generally present at diagnosis. It must be differentiated from other conditions such as Inclusion body myositis which can be done on biopsy. It is also a part of the paraneoplastic conditions which occurs in cases of breast cancers.

Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer:

The following medical news items are relevant to misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer:

• Breast cancer and litigation
• Breast cancer delayed diagnosis cost mother life, medical profession millions
• Court order $4.2m compensation for breast cancer misdiagnosis
• Fears of legal action result in 20% increase in breast clinic referrals
• Gay woman sues hospital for partner’s misdiagnosis of breast cancer
• Mistaken breast removal
• Mother’s chances of survival at 7% due to delayed diagnosis of cancer
• Negligent general physician sued over breast cancer
• Pathologist tries to hide misdiagnosis
• Recall for Breast Cancer screening
• Woman dies after she was told she was too young to have breast cancer
• Woman to receive compensation after gross misdiagnosis leads to unnecessary surgery
• Woman with breast cancer told she had Lyme disease

General Misdiagnosis Articles

Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.

• Misdiagnosis Overview
• How Common is Misdiagnosis?
• Over-Diagnosed Diseases
• Under-Diagnosed Diseases
• Types of Misdiagnosis
• Wrong Type Misdiagnosis
• Why Does Misdiagnosis Occur?
• Difficult Diseases to Diagnose
• More premium medical articles ...

About misdiagnosis:

When checking for a misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer or confirming a diagnosis of Breast Cancer, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Breast Cancer may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Breast Cancer. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.