Purpose
Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is a rare histological subtype (1). It occurs in less than 0.1% of patients with breast cancer (2). The phenotype is typically a triple negative carcinoma (negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors and negative receptor for human epidermal growth factor (HER-2)) (3).
Imaging features of ACC of the breast are usually nonspecific and vary widely (4). On mammography, it has been described as asymmetric densities or irregular masses. On ultrasound imaging, ACC often presents as an irregular, hypoechoic...
Methods and materials
We conducted a retrospective review of all patients with diagnosis of ACC of the breast between January 2002 and March 2019. Patients were identified in the cancer registry database of a single reference center for cancer treatment located in Brazil. The demographic characteristics, clinical presentation, imaging findings, pathology results and immunohistochemical features (HER-2, estrogen and progesterone receptor status) were reviewed in all cases.
Results
Upon review of our cancer registry database, we found 13 patients who had received a diagnosis of ACC. The mean patient age was 63.8 years (52-87 years). All cases were HER-2 negative. There was one case in which estrogen and progesterone receptors were positive (Figure 1). The tumor size ranged from 2.0 to 7.5 cm. Six patients underwent mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy, representing 46% of patients. The nodal status was positive in just one case (Table 1). Three patients reported a familial history...
Conclusion
ACC is a rare special subtype of breast cancer with good prognosis despite being a triple-negative tumor. The mammography appearances of ACC of the breast are nonspecific, but the most feature is mass. Patients are usually symptomatic with a palpable mass. Metastasis is rare.
Personal information and conflict of interest
- M. A. Leão; Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos/BR - nothing to disclose
[email protected]
- L. Veras;Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos/BR- nothing to disclose
- A. Watanabe;Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos/BR- nothing to disclose
- N. Menezes;Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos/BR- nothing to disclose
References
1. T.A. Sumpio Be Jennings, M.J. Merino, et al., Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast: data from the Connecticut tumour registry and a review of the
literature, Ann. Surg. 205 (1987) 295–301.
2. Glazebrook KN, Reynolds C, Smith RL, Gimenez EI, Boughey JC. Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast. AJR American journal of roentgenology. 2010;194(5):1391-6.
3. Martelotto LG, De Filippo MR, Ng CK, Natrajan R, Fuhrmann L, Cyrta J, et al. Genomic landscape of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast. The Journal of pathology. 2015;237(2):179-89....