Micropapillary Carcinoma of the Breast

-Micropapillary breast carcinoma (or invasive micropapillary carcinoma IMPC) is a type of otherwise 'typical' invasive ductal carcinoma which exhibits a unique and characteristic growth pattern. -Invasive micropapillary breast carcinoma is a very aggressive form of breast cancer, with a very high rate of lymph node metastasis.(The rate of lymph node involvement is estimated at between 75% and 100%).-Skin invovlement (skin retraction) is another occassional feature of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast, and is observed in about 20-23% of all cases.Histological aspects of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breastHistologically, invasive micropapillary breast carcinoma is characterized by:-Clusters of cohesive tumor cells within quite prominent 'clear spaces', which resemble dilated angiolymphatic vessels.-The nuclei of tumor cells around the periphery can often bulge with a kind of 'knobby' appearance.- It is also quite common to see lymphatic involvement with invasive micropapillary breast cancers.The aggressiveness of invasive micropapillary carcinoma may be related to the inverse polarity of the tumor cell clusters and lymphotropism-Invasive micropapillary breast carcinoma tumors will often show lymphocytic infiltration.-They tend to accumlate in the breast stroma, often forming a lymphoid follicle. The presence of lymphocytes within the tumor will tend to suggest a more aggressive cancer; more likely to metastize to the lymph nodes.-Invasive micropap...
Source: Oncopathology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast breast cancer carcinoma micropapillary poor prognosis Source Type: blogs