breast skin changes
Last reviewed 01/2018
These include:
- dimpling / puckering - skin pulled in by an underlying carcinoma; may be subtle, best viewed in tangential light
- peau d'orange - pathognomonic of carcinoma when present over a lump
- visible lump - may be due to cysts, giant fibroadenoma, carcinoma
- erythema - suggests infection, especially if skin is warm, or mammary duct ectasia; skin discolouration may be due to infiltration with tumour
- ulceration - suggests neglected carcinoma, usually in the elderly