Breast Pathology 2 Flashcards
When do most angiosarcomas occur?
Post-radiotherapy
After how many years of radiotherapy do angiosarcomas usually happen?
2-5 years
What are the 3 most common metastatic tumours to the breast?
- Bronchial
- Ovarian serous carcinoma
- Clear cell carcinoma of kidney
Name a soft tissue tumour of the breast.
Leiomysarcoma
What, simply, is a breast carcinoma?
A malignant tumour of the breast epithelial cells
Where in the breast does a carcinoma arise?
Arises in the glandular epithelium of the terminal duct lobular unit (TDLU)
Name 4 ductal precursor lesions in the breast.
- Epithelial hyperplasia of usual type
- Columnar cell change
- Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia
- Ductal Carcinoma in situ
Name a lobular precursor lesion of the breast.
Lobular in situ neoplasia - Atypical lobular hyperplasia or Lobular carcinoma in situ
Where is an in situ carcinoma of the breast confined to?
This is confined to the basement membrane of acini and ducts
What is atypical about breast carcinoma?
They are described as being malignant but are non-invasive
Breast carcinoma can be either _______ or ______
Lobular or ductal
What are the 2 main sub-categories of lobular in situ neoplasia?
- Atypical Lobular Hyperplasia (ALH) - <50% of lobule is involved
- Lobular Carcinoma in situ (LCIS) - >50% of the lobule is involved
ALH is defined as …
<50% of lobule is involved
LCIS is defined as …
> 50% of the lobule is involved
In what is there ‘intralobular proliferation of characteristic cells’?
Lobular in situ neoplasia
List some of the features of cells in lobular in situ neoplasia.
- Small-intermediate sized nuclei
- Solid proliferation
- Intra-cytoplasmic lumens/vacuoles
- Oestrogen receptor positive (ER+)
- E-cadherin negative (deletion and mutation of CDH1 gene on Chr 16q22.1)
What is E cadherin?
E cadherin is a cell adhesion molecule found in the membrane but not in this neoplasia (this process is lost)
Outline the main clinical features of lobular in situ neoplasia.
- Frequently multifocal and bilateral
- Incidence decreases after menopause
- Not palpable or visible grossly
- May calcify – which can be seen on mammography
- Usually an incidental finding
When does the incidence of lobular in situ neoplasia decrease?
After menopause
Lobular in situ neoplasia are not palpable or visible grossly
TRUE
What may a lobular in situ neoplasia do? (hint: it can be seen on mammography)
Calcify
Why is incidence of lobular in situ neoplasia decreased after menopause?
ER (oestrogen receptor) drops
Outline the management of lobular in situ neoplasia.
- Vacuum biopsy
- Excision biopsy – this is less common now
- Follow up
How can you tell what lobular in situ neoplasia will be invasive?
You can’t :(
List the 4 different types of ductal proliferation.
- Epithelial hyperplasia of usual type
- Columnar cell change (lesion)
- Atypical ductal hyperplasia
- Ductal carcinoma in situ
Different intraductal neoplasia’s have different risks of progression to invasive carcinoma. Comment on the different risks.
- Epithelial hyperplasia of usual type – 2x RR
- Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia – 4x RR
- Ductal Carcinoma in situ (low grade) – 10x RR (25% over following 10 years)
15-20% of all breast malignancies are ____
DCIS
DCIS accounts for what % of all breast cancers?
15-20%
Where in the breast does ductal carcinoma in situ arise?
Arises in TDLU (terminal duct lobular unit)
DCIS is characteristically?
Unicentric (single duct system)
What is DCIS a risk factor for?
Risk factor for development of invasive carcinoma !! – a true precursor lesion of invasive carcinoma