Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in a male breast: a rare occurrence

Abstract

Carcinoma of male breast is uncommon as it accounts for 0.7% of total breast cancer. The pathology of male breast cancer is remarkably similar to that of cancers seen in women. The same histological subtypes of invasive cancer are present, although papillary carcinomas (both invasive and in situ) are more common and lobular carcinomas are less common. The predominant histological type, in males, as in females, reported in large series has been infiltrating ductal carcinoma with scattered reports of infiltrating lobular carcinoma, all of them of classical type except for a single case of pleomorphic infiltrating lobular carcinoma. Herein, we describe a case of pleomorphic lobular carcinoma occurring in male breast.

Figure 1

(a) Cut surface of the gross specimen shows circumscribed, grey white tumor with few small areas of necrosis. (b) Sections from the tumor mass show hyperchromatic, pleomorphic cells in diffuse sheets. At place cells with targetoid appearance (arrow) are noted [H & E x400]. (c) Higher magnification showing pleomorphic cells with PAS positive (arrow) intracytoplasmic mucin [PAS x400]. (d) Immunohistochemistry for E-cadherin negative [Avodin Biodin, x100].