Case report: rare breast tumor-Schwannoma of the breast

Schwannomas are rare, slow growing nerve sheath tumors, one-third of which arise from the head and neck. We report the case of a 37-year-old female who presented with a slow growing, non-tender, left-sided breast mass designated as a Bi-Rads 4 on imaging of the breast warranting further biopsy. A core needle biopsy was obtained of the lesion and appropriately identified as a schwannoma of the breast. Schwannomas have a characteristic histologic appearance of Antoni A, Antoni B, and Verocay bodies with characteristic S100 and SOX-10 staining-all characteristics of which this lesion did possess. The patient did have a history of neurofibromatosis type 2, which previously had manifested as left-sided neck lesions confirmed as schwannomas by pathology following surgical excision of the masses. Schwannomas of the breast are very rare, accounting for only 2.6% of schwannomas. The schwannoma of the breast in this case was appropriately treated with surgical excision and confirmation of the diagnosis on pathology with the entirety of the specimen. In most cases, no further surgical intervention is warranted subsequently. In this case report, we highlight the relevance of consideration of a schwannoma as a breast mass, particularly in patients with a history of neurofibromatosis type 2.