Breast Pathology

Paget’s Disease of the Breast

Paget’s disease (PD) of the nipple is an uncommon malignancy, accounting for 1% to 3% of all breast tumors, characterized by eczematous eruption and ulceration. Velpeau described the eczematous lesions of the nipple-areola in 1856, but it was Sir James…

Apocrine Carcinoma of the Breast

Introduction The word apocrine in medical literature is used in general to denote a gland or cell exhibiting a distinct type of glandular secretion in which the free end of the secreting cell is cast off along with the secretory…

Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma

Metaplastic breast carcinomas are a heterogeneous group that can display adenocarcinoma, squamous, spindle cell, and/or heterologous mesenchymal growth patterns, often in various combinations. These combinations have suggested monikers such as matrix-producing carcinoma , carcinosarcoma , spindle cell carcinoma , and…

Triple-Negative and Basal-like Carcinoma

Introduction Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) and accounts for approximately 15% of invasive breast cancers (IBCs) among screened individuals and up to 20% to…

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a heterogeneous group of lesions defined as a proliferation of neoplastic epithelial cells within the mammary duct lobular system. Major diagnostic criteria that differentiate DCIS from invasive cancer are the presence of intact basement…

Lobular Neoplasia and Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

Despite the earlier descriptions by Ewing, the term lobular carcinoma is largely credited to Foote and Stewart, who, in 1941, published their seminal paper describing a detailed morphological analysis of a distinctive subgroup of in situ carcinomas of the breast,…

Molecular Classification of Breast Carcinoma

Introduction Historically, breast cancers have been classified broadly based on morphology into ductal and lobular types and characterized by tumor grading. A smaller percentage of tumors are classified as “special subtype carcinomas.” This classification system has provided useful prognostic information.…