Clinicopathologic Analysis of 40 Mucinous Breast Carcinomas

Choe, Woo Jin; Kang, Han Sung; Kim, Ji Soo; Noh, Dong Young; Park, In Ae; Yong, Yeo Kyu; Oh, Seung Keun; Choe, Kuk Jin

Abstract

PURPOSE
Mucinous carcinoma of breast was known to have a lower lymph node metastasis and better prognosis than other type of breast cancer. This study was performed to clarify the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of mucinous breast carcinoma.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed clinicopathologic features of 40 patients diagnosed mucinous breast carcinoma from Jan. 1985 to Dec. 1995 and compared 31 patients of unmixed mucinous breast carcinoma with 1128 patients of infiltrating ductal carcinoma group.
RESULTS
Of total 40 mucinous ca., 31 cases were unmixed type showing no component of invasive ductal component(IDC) and 9 cases were mixed type showing IDC. The average age of the patients was 47 ranging from 31 to 71 years. The most common symptom was palpable breast mass(38 cases, 95%). According to TNM classification, the numbers of unmixed type were following, stage I 14 cases(45%), stage II 15 cases(48%), and stage III 2 cases(7%), and of mixed type, stage I 1 cases(11%), and stage II was 8 cases(89%). Axillary lymph node metastasis was shown to be negative in 26 cases of unmixed mucinous carcinoma(84%), whereas it did in 544 cases of infilterating ductal carcinoma(48%)(p<0.05). Because all patients with unmixed mucinous carcinoma survived except 2 patients who died of cancer unrelated causes, it was impossible to analyze the difference of outcome in unmixed mucinous carcinoma and infilterating ductal carcinoma(5YSR: 81%).
CONCLUSION
Considering unmixed mucinous carcinoma had fewer axillary lymph node metatasis than infiterating ductal carcinoma, it may be concluded that unmixed mucinous carcinoma had better prognosis.