J Breast Cancer.  2011 Dec;14(4):308-313. 10.4048/jbc.2011.14.4.308.

Mucinous Carcinoma of the Breast in Comparison with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma: Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Prognosis

• Bae SY
• Choi MY
• Cho DH
• Lee JE
• Nam SJ
• Yang JH

• KMID: 2175726
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2011.14.4.308

Abstract

PURPOSE
Mucinous carcinoma (MC) of the breast is a rare histologic type of mammary neoplasm. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of MC.
METHODS
We conducted a retrospective analysis of all MC cases reported to a database between 1994 and 2010. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival of 268 MC cases were reviewed and compared with 2,455 invasive ductal carcinoma-not otherwise specified (IDC-NOS) cases.
RESULTS
The MC cases were of a younger age, involved less lymph nodes, lower stage, more expression of hormonal receptors, and less HER2 overexpression compared to the IDC-NOS cases. The 5-year DFS rate for MC was 95.2% compared to 92.0% for IDC-NOS. The 5-year OS rate for MC was 98.9% compared to 94.9% for IDC-NOS. Multivariate analysis using Cox regression revealed that the mucinous type was a significant prognostic factor for DFS with lower nodal status (N stage) and hormonal therapy. For OS, only N stage was the most significant prognostic factor followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant hormonal therapy.
CONCLUSION
MC was shown to be associated with a better DFS than IDC-NOS, but it had a similar OS. Nodal status and adjuvant therapy appear to be more significant predictors of prognosis than histologic subtype.

Keyword

Adenocarcinoma; Breast; Invasive ductal carcinoma; Mucinous; Prognosis

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous
Animals
Breast
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
Disease-Free Survival
Lymph Nodes
Mammary Neoplasms, Animal
Mucins
Multivariate Analysis
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies
Mucins

Figure

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  Figure 1 Comparison of disease-free survival (DFS) curves for invasive ducal carcinoma (IDC) and mucinous carcinoma.

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  Figure 2 Comparison of overall survival (OS) curves for invasive ducal carcinoma (IDC) and mucinous carcinoma.

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  Figure 3 Overall survival (OS) curves for invasive ducal carcinoma (IDC) and mucinous carcinoma, stratified by stage.

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  Figure 4 Overall survival (OS) curves for invasive ducal carcinoma (IDC) and mucinous carcinoma, stratified by tumor size (T stage).

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