Causes of Axillary Lymphadenopathy
Axillary lymphadenopathy can be traced to several causes. The condition may be temporary, usually in the case of an infection, or long term depending on whether it’s caused by cancer or a chronic medical condition.
Possible causes such as infections or medical conditions that may result to lymph node swelling in the axillary include:
- Breast infections
- HIV/aids [6]
- Herpes simplex
- Mononucleosis (“mono”)
- Epstein-barr virus
- Arm infections
- Cat scratch disease
- Autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus
- tuberculosis [7]
- Sarcoidosis, which creates clusters of inflammatory cells
Sometimes an armpit lump may be caused by a:
- Benign cyst
- Abscess [8]
- Lipoma (a benign fatty tissue)
- A reaction to a recent vaccine
The risk that axillary lymphadenopathy could have a malignant cause increases as you age. Cancers that may cause this condition include:
- Lymphoma
- lymphocytic leukemia [9]
- Breast cancer
- Carcinomas
- Other cancers that have metastasized to the lymph nodes.