Columnar alteration with prominent apical snouts and secretions

Last revised by Henry Knipe on 2 Jul 2015

Columnar alteration with prominent apical snouts and secretions (CAPSS) is a pathological entity encountered when breast biopsies are done for investigation of punctate or amorphous calcifications. CAPSS involves the terminal ductal and lobular units (TDLU's).

It is sometimes classified under the spectrum of borderline breast disease. Therefore when the histology reveals CAPSS with atypia on a stereotactic or ultrasound guided biopsy, an excisional biopsy is recommended to exclude associated DCIS 4.