The perilobular hemangioma. A benign microscopic vascular lesion of the breast.

Vascular tumors of the breast are rare, and reports in the literature suggest that most are malignant. The present study is concerned with a benign vascular tumor of the breast, a lesion generally known as perilobular hemangioma. This microscopic lesion consists of a meshwork of thin-walled, dilated vascular channels that may be situated within a breast lobule or in the extralobular mammary stroma. Hemangiomas of this type were found in seven or 1.2% or 555 mastectomies performed in 1974 in female patients who had mammary carcinoma. There was no association with a specific type of mammary carcinoma. Similar hemangiomas were observed as often in a series of breast biopsies performed for benign conditions. None of the angiomas showed any significant atypia or anaplasia.