J Breast Cancer.
2022 Dec;25(6):513-521. 10.4048/jbc.2022.25.e46.
Malignant Apocrine Lesions of the Breast: Multimodality Imaging Findings and Biologic Features
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
- 2Department of Radiology, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
- 3Department of Pathology, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
- 4Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, Korea
- KMID: 2537650
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.4048/jbc.2022.25.e46
Abstract
- The apocrine morphology of the breast is observed in a broad pathological spectrum, ranging from benign cysts to invasive carcinomas. However, the number of clinical research investigating malignant apocrine lesions is limited. This study retrospectively reviewed the data of patients with malignant apocrine lesions admitted in a tertiary center between January 2004 and December 2021, based on the radiology-pathology correlation and the recent advances in their status to enhance the therapeutic implications of androgen receptor (AR). Among the 37 patients with lesions, 27 (73.0%) had triple-negative subtypes with predominant AR expression. The radiological features of malignant apocrine lesions did not differ from those of typical invasive ductal carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ. This study demonstrated that knowledge on the imaging features of malignant apocrine lesions and their histological basis could enhance the adoption of new targeted therapies in patients with this particular type of breast cancer.
