Infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast, metastatic to axillary lymph nodes harboring primary tuberculous lymphadenitis

A 46-year-old female presented with lump in the left breast. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) from breast and axillary lymph node revealed infiltrating ductal carcinoma with metastasis in axillary node. The patient underwent radical mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection. Histopathological examination showed concomitant presence of metastatic tumor deposits and tubercular lymphadenitis in 8/18 nodes. The case is presented for its rarity and illustrates that FNAC can fail to detect mixed lesions unless multiple punctures from many sites are performed.(Pathology Oncology Research Vol 12, No 3, 188–189)