Breast
Other invasive carcinoma subtypes, WHO classified
Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma
Author: Monika Roychowdhury, M.D.
Last author update: 1 September 2012
Last staff update: 8 March 2021
Copyright: 2001-2024, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed search: mucinous cystadenocarcinoma breast and columnar cell mucinous [title] carcinoma breast
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Epidemiology | Case reports | Gross description | Gross images | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive stains | Negative stains | Differential diagnosisCite this page: Roychowdhury M. Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/breastmalignantmucinouscystadenocarcinoma.html. Accessed December 26th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Very rare as primary breast tumor (< 50 cases reported)
- Carcinoma composed of tall columnar cells with basal, bland nuclei and abundant intracytoplasmic and extracytoplasmic mucin (as opposed to mucinous / colloid carcinoma with only extracellular mucin, and signet ring cell carcinoma with only intracellular mucin)
- Either grossly cystic (mucinous cystadenocarcinoma) or solid (columnar cell mucinous carcinoma)
- Resembles similar tumors of ovary, pancreas and appendix (Am J Surg Pathol 1998;22:698)
Epidemiology
- Mean age 58 - 68 years, range 49 - 96 years
Case reports
- 41 year old woman with a basal-like immunophenotype (Pathol Int 2012;62:429)
- 52 year old woman (Case Rep Oncol 2009;2:210)
- 65 year old woman whose tumor coexisted with infiltrating ductal carcinoma (Pathol Int 2004;54:781)
- 65 year old woman with primary mammary mucinous cystadenocarcinoma (Diagn Cytopathol 2012;40:624)
- 96 year old woman with mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of breast (Arch Pathol Lab Med 2003;127:1031)
- Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the breast with Her2 amplification (Hum Pathol 2010;41:910)
Gross description
- Multicystic, up to 19 cm
- Resembles ovarian and pancreatic cystadenocarcinoma, cystic hypersecretory carcinoma of breast
Gross images
Images hosted on other servers:
Ovary - multicystic tumor
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Cystic spaces lined by bland, tall columnar cells with abundant intracytoplasmic mucin
- Tumor cells exhibit stratification, tufting and papillary formation
- Variable cytologic atypia
- Gradual loss of intracytoplasmic mucin and transformation to eosinophilic squamoid cells that are focally invasive
- Columnar cell variant has round and convoluted glands in loose aggregates, lined by tall columnar mucinous epithelium with basal bland nuclei
- Demonstrates both intracellular and extracellular mucin
Microscopic (histologic) images
Images hosted on other servers:
Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of breast with estrogen receptor expression
Retroperitoneal tumor
Positive stains
- CK7, Ki67 (high % of cells) and ER (rarely positive, Case Rep Oncol 2009;2:210)
Differential diagnosis
- Colloid / mucinous carcinoma: clusters of tumor cells floating in lakes of extracellular mucin
- Cystic hypersecretory carcinoma: prominent epithelial hyperplasia and eosinophilic secretions
- Metastatic tumor
