Secretory Carcinoma of the Breast: 4 Cases

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A secretory carcinoma is one of the least common carcinomas of the breast. Most studies of this carcinoma have been single case reports or separate analyses of the problem in either children or adults. METHODS: We studied 4 female patients treated in Samsung Medical Center from Nov.1994 to Dec. 1998. All of them were diagnosed as having a secretory carcinoma by using pathologic examination. RESULTS: All patients were female and they were 21, 29, 49, and 69 years of age. The initial symptom in two cases was a palpable mass. One patient presented with nipple discharge, but a palpable mass was found during the physical examination. The other carcinoma was detected on screening mammography. Mammography and ultrasonography suggested malignancy in three cases. One case was preoperatively misinterpreted as an intraductal papilloma. Preoperative ultrasonography-guided core biopsy performed in one case was diagnosed as a secretory carcinoma. All the patients were in a relatively early stage, stages IIb, I, I, and I. Estrogen receptors were negative in three and positive in one, but progesteron receptors were negative in all four cases. Postoperative courses were good, and there have been no recurrence or side effects yet. CONCLUSIONS: A secretory carcinoma is a rare condition of the breast, but the prognosis seems to be favorable with a mortality rate lower than that of the usual breast cancer. Exact diagnosis with preoperative aspiration cytology and biopsy will make it possible to perform more conservative surgery.