the challenge of distinguishing cylindroma of the breast from adenoid cystic carcinoma: a case report and review of this rare tumor

background: cylindroma of the breast is a rarely described tumor that closely resembles its dermal counterpart. case presentation: we report a case of a 55-year-old woman with an incidental finding of a left breast mass on screening mammography. on histologic examination, the tumor was found to be consistent with cylindroma of the breast. conclusion: generally considered to be a benign lesion, cylindroma of the breast may be challenging to differentiate from morphologically similar tumors, such as solid type adenoid cystic carcinoma, and this uncertainty may lead to a dilemma in treatment options. these patients should be followed closely, as long-term outcome data is not available given the uncommon occurrence of these lesions within the breast.