A case of BIA-ALCL in which postoperative chest wall recurrence was highly suspected: the third reported case of BIA-ALCL in Japan

Background Breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare malignancy. Many cases of BIA-ALCL are identified based on the presence of late-onset effusion and/or masses. Importantly, the United States Food and Drug Administration noted that in all cases diagnosed in patients with textured implants, the patients either had a history of mixed implantation of smooth and textured devices or no clinical history was supplied for review. In Japan, the first case of BIA-ALCL was reported in 2019, and we encountered the third case in Japan in December 2021. There have been a total of five cases of BIA-ALCL previously reported at Japanese academic conferences (Japan Oncoplastic Breast Surgery Society. http://jopbs.umin.jp/medical/index.html ), of which only the first case has been published. Unlike the first case, this patient had clinical features that were highly suggestive of the postoperative chest wall recurrence of breast cancer, with a mass and rash on the skin. Case presentation The patient was a 45-year-old woman who had undergone breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery of the right breast 8 years previously. The patient presented with a mass and skin rash inside the inframammary area, and we suspected a damaged silicone breast implant (SBI) or chest wall recurrence. We examined the mass by a core needle biopsy and made a pathological diagnosis of BIA-ALCL. Imaging findings suggested internal thoracic lymph node swelling and lymphoma infiltration beyond the capsule but no metastatic lesions (cStage III). After en bloc resection of the SBI and lymphoma, adjuvant systemic therapy was performed. Conclusion We encountered the third case of BIA-ALCL in Japan. This was a case with clinically advanced stage of disease; however, the BIA-ALCL was found to be in remission.