Invasive cribriform carcinoma with extensive microcalcifications in the male breast

• Published in: Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 145 - 148
• Main Authors: Nishimura, Rieko, Ohsumi, Shozo, Teramoto, Norihiro, Yamakawa, Takashi, Saeki, Toshiaki, Takashima, Shigemitsu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 2005
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Adenocarcinoma - surgery; Axilla - surgery; Breast Neoplasms, Male - pathology; Breast Neoplasms, Male - surgery; Calcinosis - pathology; Calcinosis - surgery; Humans; Lymph Node Excision; Male; Mammography; Mastectomy, Segmental; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness
• ISSN: 1340-6868; 1880-4233
• DOI: 10.2325/jbcs.12.145

Invasive cribriform carcinoma (ICC) is a rare, unique type of invasive breast carcinoma that exhibits a cribriform pattern in the majority of the invasive component and is associated with an excellent prognosis. Only one male patient with ICC has been previously reported. Mammography studies often suggest that ICC contains microcalcifications, but the histological finding of extensive microcalcification has only been reported in one patient with ICC. Here we report a male patient diagnosed with ICC and exhibiting histologically confirmed extensive microcalcification is reported. The patient was a 64-year-old Japanese man in whom a breast tumor was detected during an annual check up. Mammography demonstrated a circumscribed high-density mass with microcalcifications. Breast-conserving surgery with axillary node dissection was performed. The tumor was located in the subareolar region of his left breast. The excised tumor had a maximum diameter of 1.0 cm, and no signs of invasion to extramammary tissue were observed. Histologically, the tumor cells were arranged in a cribriform pattern with invasive and non-invasive components. High-grade carcinoma or tubular carcinoma components were not observed. Extensive calcification was seen within the cribriform spaces. Immunohistological staining revealed that the cribriform spaces did not contain basement membrane material, and the tumor cells had not differentiated into basaloid cells or lactational mammary epithelium. The patient is presently free from local recurrence or metastasis 7 months after undergoing surgery.