Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mucocoele-Like Lesions

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Benign Breast Diseases

  • 2183 Accesses

Abstract

In 1986, Rosen described an entity he termed a mucocoele-like lesion (MLL) in six women aged between 26 and 61 years. Only one patient was postmenopausal. These lesions consisted of duct–lobular units that were dilated and distended with mucin, which extravasated into the surrounding stroma, reminiscent of salivary gland lesions. In five patients the MLL presented as a symptomatic mass, and in another patient it was an incidental finding in association with intraductal carcinoma. From his observations, Professor Rosen concluded that MLLs should be included in the differential diagnosis of mucinous carcinoma and the lesions in young patients should be treated with caution, as mucinous carcinoma is rare in this age group. The pathogenesis of MLLs is unclear. Breast epithelium secretes acid and neutral mucins, which are present in both benign and malignant lesions (Spicer et al. 1962). MLL most likely arises due to accumulation of mucin in the ducts and lobular units with resultant dilatations and subsequent leakage of the mucin into the surrounding stroma. Mucocoele-like lesion and mucocoele-like tumour are used interchangeably in the publications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Carder PJ, Murphy CE, Liston JC (2004) Surgical excision is warranted following a core biopsy diagnosis of mucocele-like lesion of the breast. Histopathology 45:148–154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carkaci S, Lane DL, Gilcrease MZ et al (2011) Do all mucocele-like lesions of the breast require surgery? Clin Imaging 35:94–101

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng L, Lee W-Y, Chang T-W (2004) Benign mucocele-like lesion of the breast: how to differentiate from mucinous carcinoma before surgery. Cytopathology 15:104–108

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chinyama CN, Davies JD (1996) Mammary mucinous lesions: congeners, prevalence and important pathological associations. Histopathology 29:533–539

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chinyama CN, Myerscough N, Corfield A, Davies JD (1996) Isotopic in situ hybridisation for detection of seven mucin genes in breast cancer and benign lesions. J Pathol 179(Supp 2A)

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies JD, Kutt E, Kulka J, Farndon FR, Webb AJ (1995) Mucocele-like lesions detected by mammographic presence of suspicious clustered microcalcification. Breast 5:135–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding H-Y, Yang G-Z (2008) Clinicopathological features of the mucocele-like lesions in the breast. Clin J Pathol 37:31–1

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fadare O, Mariappan MR (2008) Mucocele-like tumor and columnar cell hyperplasia of the breast occurring in a morphologic continuum. J Med Case Rep 2:138. http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/contents/2/1/138

  • Glazebrook K, Reynolds C (2003) Mucocele-like tumors of the breast: mammographic and sonographic appearances. AM J Roentgenol 180:949–954

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamele-Bena D, Cranor ML, Rosen PP (1996) Mammary mucocele-like lesions. Benign and malignant. Am J Surg Pathol 20:1081–1085

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffer S, Bleiweiss IJ, Nagi CS (2011) Benign mucocele-like lesions of the breast: revisited. Mod Pathol 24:683–687

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim SM, Kim HK, Kang DK et al (2011) Mucocele-like tumours of the breast as cystic lesions: sonographic-pathologic collation. AJR Am J Roentgenol 198:1424–1430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JS, Kim HS, Jung JJ, Lee MC (2001) Mucocele-like tumour of the breast associated with ductal carcinoma in situ and mucinous carcinoma: a case report. J Korean Med Sci 16:516–518

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell JT, Shao ZM, Drori E, Basbaum CB, Barsky SH (1998) Altered mucin expression is a field change that accompanies mucinous (colloid) breast carcinoma histogenesis. Hum Pathol 29:1517–1523

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ohi Y, Umetika Y, Rai Y et al. (2011) Mucocele-like lesions of the breast: a long term follow-up study. Diagn Pathol 6:29. http://www.diagnosticpathology.org.content/6/1/29

    Google Scholar 

  • Page DL, Dupont WD, Rogers LW, Rados MS (1985) Atypical hyperplastic lesions of the female breast. A long-term follow-up study. Cancer 55:2698–2708

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rakha EA, Shaabam AM, Haider S et al (2013) Outcome of pure mucocele like lesions diagnoesd on breast core. Histopathology 62:894–898

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsaroop R, Granberg D, Tracey N, Bensol-Cooper D (2005) Mucocele-like lesions of the breast an audit of 2 years at Breast Screen Auckland (New Zealand). Breast J 11:321–325

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ro JY, Sahin AA, Silva EG, del Junco GW, Ayala AG (1991) Mucocele-like tumour associated with atypical hyperplasia or mucinous carcinoma. Arch Pathol Lab Med 115:137–140

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen PP (1986) Mucocele-like tumors of the breast. Am J Surg Pathol 10:464–469

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen PP (2009) Mucinous carcinoma. In Rosen Breast Pathology, 3rd edn. Walters Kluwer Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia. pp 515–535

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt FC, Pereira M, Reis C (1999) MUC5 expression in breast carcinomas. Hum Pathol 30:1270

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer SS, Neubecker RD, Warren L, Henson JG (1962) Epithelial mucins in lesions of the human breast. J Nat Cancer Inst 29:963–975

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Verschuu-Maes AHJ, Van Diest PJ (2011) The mucinous variant of columnar cell lesions. Histopathology 58:847–853

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver MG, Abdul-Karim FW, Al-Kaisi N (1993) Mucinous lesions of the breast: a pathological continuum. Pathol Res Pract 189:873–876

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao H, Morimoto T, Sasa M, Asato Y, Izumi K (2002) Case reports of malignant mucocele-like lesions. Breast Cancer 9:86–90

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Princess Elizabeth Hospital Le Vauquiedor St. Martin’s Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK

    Catherine N. Chinyama MBChB(Hons),FRCPath,IFCAP,LLM (Consultant Pathologist, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer)

  2. Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, England UK

    Catherine N. Chinyama MBChB(Hons),FRCPath,IFCAP,LLM (Consultant Pathologist, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer)

Authors
  1. Catherine N. Chinyama MBChB(Hons),FRCPath,IFCAP,LLM
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chinyama, C.N. (2014). Mucocoele-Like Lesions. In: Benign Breast Diseases. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41065-9_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41065-9_12

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-41064-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-41065-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation