Breast Path Flashcards
Composition of glandular tissue
Ducts
Lobules
Function of Ducts
Excretion of milk
Function of lobules
Secretion of milk
Most common cause of breast pain
Cyclical mastalgia
Rx cyclical mastalgia
Primrose oil in the evening
Simple analgesia
Cycle of cyclical mastalgia
Worse before period
Better after period
Causes of clear discharge
Physiological
Prolactinoma (rare)
Cause of Nipple discharge from multiple ducts
Mammary duct ectasia
Cause of nipple discharge from a single duct
Papilloma
Ductal ca in sitiu (rare)
Epi of duct ectasia
35-45 y/o
Smokers
Rx duct ectasia
Nothing
Excision
Path of duct ectasia
Defective elastic tissue around the duct
Ineffective excretion of milk
Milk pools in sinus and inflammation ensues
Presentation of intraductal papilloma
Single duct discharge
Blood stained
Histology of Intraductal papilloma
Fibrovascular core surrounded by epithelial and myoepithelial cells
Inside a duct
Attached to wall
How is a breast lump assessed?
Triple assessment:
- Clinical (Hx, Examination)
- Radiological (Mammography, USS)
- Biopsy (FNA/ CB)
Breast Lump Hx
S= Site (medial = not good)
O= Onset (duration, getting worse better)
C= Character/Consistency (focal, vague, smooth, irregular, soft, firm, tethered)
R= Radiation (Skin / axilla)
A= Associated sx (Pain, discharge)
T= Timing (Cyclical, constant, period, pregnancy, breast feeding)
E =
S= Size (fluctuation, progression?)
What type of radiology is a mammogram?
XR
What type of patients benefit from mammogram screening? Why?
Older women
Breast tissue is less dense (more fatty)
Masses are more apparent
Mammogram views
- Cranio-caudal
2. Oblique
Complications of mammogram?
2
- Exposure to radiation (increased risk of ca)
- Often misses medial masses/calcifications
When is a USS used?
3
- To tell if a lump is cystic or solid
- To tell if a lump is smooth or irregular
- To guide biopsy
Types of benign breast lumps
5
- Simple cyst
- Fibrocystic change
- Fibroadenoma
- Papilloma
- Fat necrosis
Types of simple cyst
- Epidermal inclusion cyst
- Deep lobular/ductal cyst
What happens to the lobular/ductal epithelium in lobular/ductal cyst formation?
Metaplasia to apocrine epithelium
What happens to the epithelium in epidermal inclusion cysts?
There is infolding of the squamous epithelium and a keratin inclusion body is formed
How to people present with fibrocystic change?
- Vague, painless lump/bump/thickening
- Asymptomatic: calcification was picked up on a mammogram
Histopathology of fibrocystic change
- Cyst
- Fibrosis
- Adenosis
- Calcification
Presentation of Fibroadenoma
- Young:
- Lump: mobile, painless, smooth
- Hormonally responsive - Old:
- Asymptomatic but mamographic abnormality
Histopathology of Fibroadenoma
2
- Balanced proliferation of epithelial and stromal elements
- well circumscribed and pale
Transformation of Fibroadenoma
Fibroadenoma —>
Benign Phyllodes Tumour—>
Malignant Phyllodes Tumour
Histopathology of benign phyllodes tumour
Stromal proliferation > epithelial proliferation
Histopathology of malignant phyllodes tumour
Sarcoma
Histopathology of papilloma
3
- Fibrovascular core surrounded by cuboidal epithelium
- Branching pattern
- Within ducts
Presentation of Papilloma and associated cancer risk
Bloody discharge from a single duct = lower risk of cancer
No discharge but multiple ducts involved = increased risk of ca
Cause of fat necrosis
Trauma:
- seatbelt
- surgical
Presentation of Fat necrosis
Painless, well circumscribed lump
OR
Vague thickening
BOTH WITH
Hx Trauma
Histopathology of Fat necrosis
3
- Multinucleated giant cells
- Fat / oil droplets
- Foamy macrophages
What is the most common cancer in women?
Breast
What % of cancers in females does Breast ca account for?
25%
How many cases of male breast cancer in UK every year?
400