Register for Rare metaplastic breast malignancies often reveal extensive vascularity
Breast CancerMay 6, 2003
2003 MAY 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rare metaplastic breast malignancies often reveal extensive vascularity.
According to recent research from Italy, "Metaplastic breast carcinomas are rare neoplasms showing both carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. In this report we describe eleven cases of metaplastic breast carcinoma focusing on pathological features and the clinical behavior of six patients with breast carcinoma with chondroid metaplasia (MCC). We collected eleven cases from 1996 to 2001: immunohistochemical tests were performed in order to obtain data on estrogen and progesterone receptors and the production of p53 gene and HER/2 neu."
"Neoangiogenesis was studied counting vessels immunohistochemically stained with CD31 antibody. Six cases showed chondroid metaplasia, three cases were spindle cell carcinoma and two were metaplastic squamous carcinoma," stated R. Bellino and colleagues, University of Turin.
"The majority of patients (64%) had pT2 tumors without axillary node metastases: only two cases with spindle or squamous metaplasia showed nodal involvement. Fifty percent of MCC were pT1b-c tumors: no axillary metastases were observed."
"Vascular invasion was observed in all squamous and spindle cell types and in 66% of MCC: estrogen and progesterone receptors were absent in 90% of the tumors," said researchers.
"Immunohistochemical staining for HER2/neu was detected in 72% of spindle cell and squamous carcinomas and in 33% of MCC. Three cases staining highly for p53 were chondroid carcinomas: the staining was uniform both in carcinomatous and in sarcomatous tissue. The majority of metaplastic carcinomas had high angiogenesis."
"One patient with a chondroid metaplastic carcinoma was found to be a carrier of a BRCA1 mutation similar to the one responsible for sickle cell disease, possibly altering the spatial structure of the gene product," noted investigators.
"Only six patients had follow-up periods longer than 36 months: five women were alive and disease-free: one patient with pT2N1 squamous metaplastic carcinoma died of disease 14 months after diagnosis. The six women with MCC were alive and disease-free."
"Surgical and adjuvant treatment should follow the guidelines for the other most common breast cancers even if the need for chemotherapy is unknown due to the absence of large series of randomized or observational data," study authors advised.
Bellino and colleagues published their study in Anticancer Research (Metaplastic breast carcinoma: Pathology and clinical outcome. Anticancer Res, 2003;23(1B):669-673).
For additional information, contact R. Bellino, University of Turin, Sant'Anna Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Viale 25 Aprile 17, Turin, Italy.
Publisher contact information for the journal Anticancer Research is: International Institute Anticancer Research, Editorial Office 1ST km Kapandritiou-Kalamou Rd. Kapandriti, PO Box 22, Athens 19014, Greece.
The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Breast Cancer, Genomics and Genetics, Gynecology, and Women's Health. This article was prepared by Cancer Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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