Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast
Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is a rare sub type of breast cancer.
Epidemiology
They account for only 0.1 - 0.4% of all breast cancers.
Pathology
The tumour demonstrates a strikingly characteristic microscopic pattern similar to that of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the salivary glands. They consist of a mixture of proliferative glandular tissue (an adenoid component) and stromal or basement membrane elements (a pseudoglandular or cylindromatous component). Adenoid cystic carcinomas of the breast displays slowly progressive growth and rarely metastasizes to the axillary lymph nodes. On pathologic analysis, it is characterized by the presence of mucin within pseudocysts found in the tumour
Radiographic features
Mammography
Mammographically they tend to appear as developing asymmetric densities or irregular masses.
Breast ultrasound
Sonographically they can appear as irregular, heterogeneous, or hypo-echoic masses with minimal vascularity on colour Doppler imaging.
Breast MRI
There is only limited data available on MR imaging features of adenoid cystic carcinomas of the breast. Described features include moderately hyper-intense signal on T2-weighted TSE images, a characteristic that may be attributed to the myxoid stroma and cribriform pattern of the tumour 7.
Prognosis
The overall can be comparatively better than the usually unspecified breast cancers. Nodal metastases are rare.
Etymology
It was first described by F. W. Foote and F. W Stewart in 1946 5
Details successfully updated.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.