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Review
. 2015 Dec 21:8:23-31.
doi: 10.4137/CPath.S31563. eCollection 2015.

Diversity of Breast Carcinoma: Histological Subtypes and Clinical Relevance

Affiliations
Review

Diversity of Breast Carcinoma: Histological Subtypes and Clinical Relevance

Jaafar Makki. Clin Med Insights Pathol. .

Abstract

Mammary carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor in women, and it is the leading cause of mortality, with an incidence of >1,000,000 cases occurring worldwide annually. It is one of the most common human neoplasms, accounting for approximately one-quarter of all cancers in females worldwide and 27% of cancers in developed countries with a Western lifestyle. They exhibit a wide scope of morphological features, different immunohistochemical profiles, and unique histopathological subtypes that have specific clinical course and outcome. Breast cancers can be classified into distinct subgroups based on similarities in the gene expression profiles and molecular classification.

Keywords: breast cancer; histological variant of breast carcinoma; invasive ductal carcinoma; lobular carcinoma; molecular classification.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mucinous carcinoma. Epithelial cells with mild atypia floating in abundant extracellular mucin.
Figure 2
Figure 2
MC. A syncytial sheet of tumor cells separated by abundant lymphoplasmacytic cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Micropapillary carcinoma. Aggregate of tumor cells in empty space with an inside–out arrangement.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Neuroendocrine carcinoma with an alveolar pattern of distribution.

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