￼Accessory Breast Tissue

Accessory breast tissue:
- Is an isolated parenchymal mass without a nipple-areolar complex
- It occurs due to failed regression of primitive mammary tissue
- It most often occurs in the axilla
Unlike the tail of Spence;
- Which is a normal extension of breast tissue to the underarm:
  - Accessory breast tissue of the axilla is not functionally connected to the breast
Accessory breast tissue:
- Is normal breast tissue
- Is subject to the same benign and malignant conditions that can occur in the breast
Ultrasound is the primary modality for evaluation:
- Accessory breast tissue:
  - Can appear as either:
    - A purely glandular elements
    - Fibrous elements or
    - A mixture of fibrous and glandular elements
The mediolateral oblique (MLO) view on mammogram:
- Is the best for imaging the lower aspect of the axilla and the axillary tail of the breast
On breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):
- Accessory breast tissue:
  - Can appear as a subcutaneous, poorly defined lesion that has contrast enhancement and signal intensity similar to the breast but is discontiguous with the rest of the breast parenchyma

References:
- Kulkarni D, Dixon JM. Congenital abnormalities of the breast. Women’s Health, 2012;8(1):75–88.
- Lim HS, Kim SJ, Baek JM, Kim JW, Shin SS, Seon HJ, et al. Sonographic findings of accessory breast tissue in axilla and related diseases. J Ultrasound Med. 2017:36(7):1469-1478.
- Patel BK, Jafarian N, Abbott AM, Khazai L, Lee MC. Imaging findings and management of primary breast cancer in accessory axillary breast tissue. Clin Breast Cancer. 2015 Aug;15(4):e223-9.

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Accessory Breast Tissue