Mammary Duct Ectasia Presenting With Brownish Nipple Discharge Mimicking Breast Carcinoma in a 49-year-old Woman: A Case Report

Mammary Duct Ectasia Presenting With Brownish Nipple Discharge Mimicking Breast Carcinoma in a 49-year-old Woman: A Case Report | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Case Report Mammary Duct Ectasia Presenting With Brownish Nipple Discharge Mimicking Breast Carcinoma in a 49-year-old Woman: A Case Report ABDIRIZAK MOHAMED ALI This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9619185/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Mammary duct ectasia is a benign breast disorder that can closely mimic Breast cancer, particularly in women over 40 years presenting with nipple discharge and a palpable mass. Distinguishing between these conditions is essential to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate management. Case presentation: We report the case of a 49-year-old HIV-positive woman on antiretroviral therapy who presented with a four-month history of right breast swelling associated with intermittent, cyclical pain and brownish, occasionally blood-stained nipple discharge. Clinical examination revealed a firm, mildly tender subareolar mass without skin changes or lymphadenopathy. Initial evaluation at Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital included breast ultrasound, which demonstrated dilated subareolar ducts with internal echoes and no obvious solid lesion. Cytological analysis of nipple discharge and fine needle aspiration showed inflammatory changes without malignant cells. Due to persistent symptoms and suspicious clinical features, a core needle biopsy was performed and confirmed mammary duct ectasia. Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of thorough clinical and pathological evaluation in patients presenting breast masses and nipple discharge. Even in resource-limited settings, a structured diagnostic approach is critical to differentiate benign from malignant conditions and to guide appropriate management Internal Medicine Mammary duct ectasia breast lump nipple discharge breast cancer mimic HIV case report Uganda Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9619185","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Case Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":636151059,"identity":"c2acea17-4318-4035-ac30-09f2be5b2586","order_by":0,"name":"ABDIRIZAK MOHAMED ALI","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Kampala International University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"ABDIRIZAK","middleName":"MOHAMED","lastName":"ALI","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-05-05 13:26:04","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":true,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9619185/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9619185/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108748675,"identity":"1485bf8e-a813-460c-be59-f31a80840f11","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 02:55:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":126577,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Ductectasia.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9619185/v1_covered_0b74c6e0-f556-4332-bf2e-77b3a4ae2ef2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eMammary Duct Ectasia Presenting With Brownish Nipple Discharge Mimicking Breast Carcinoma in a 49-year-old Woman: A Case Report\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Kampala International University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Mammary duct ectasia, breast lump, nipple discharge, breast cancer mimic, HIV, case report, Uganda","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9619185/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9619185/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground:\u003c/strong\u003e Mammary duct ectasia is a benign breast disorder that can closely mimic Breast cancer, particularly in women over 40 years presenting with nipple discharge and a palpable mass. Distinguishing between these conditions is essential to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate management.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCase presentation: \u003c/strong\u003eWe report the case of a 49-year-old HIV-positive woman on antiretroviral therapy who presented with a four-month history of right breast swelling associated with intermittent, cyclical pain and brownish, occasionally blood-stained nipple discharge. Clinical examination revealed a firm, mildly tender subareolar mass without skin changes or lymphadenopathy. Initial evaluation at Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital included breast ultrasound, which demonstrated dilated subareolar ducts with internal echoes and no obvious solid lesion. Cytological analysis of nipple discharge and fine needle aspiration showed inflammatory changes without malignant cells. Due to persistent symptoms and suspicious clinical features, a core needle biopsy was performed and confirmed mammary duct ectasia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion: \u003c/strong\u003eThis case highlights the importance of thorough clinical and pathological evaluation in patients presenting breast masses and nipple discharge. 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