Melanocyte Colonization and Pigmentation of Breast Carcinoma: Description of Two Pathological Cases and Review of Literature

Colonization of breast carcinoma by non-neoplastic melanocytes of epidermal origin was first described by Azzopardi and Eusebi in 1977. We herein report two cases on the exceptional clinical and pathological features of this phenomenon in a 66-year-old and a 51-year-old patients. The pathogenesis is not fully understood, but a disrupted basement membrane and the role of tumoral growth factors are considered essential.