Definition
Carcinoma with apocrine differentiation (invasive apocrine carcinoma) is defined by “WHO Classification of Tumours of the Breast” as “any invasive carcinoma in which cells show the cytological features of apocrine cells” (O’Malley and Lakhani 2012). More strictly, it is a breast cancer characterized by apocrine morphology (abundant eosinophilic and granular cytoplasm, centrally/eccentrically located nuclei with prominent nucleoli and distinct cell borders) and a distinct steroid receptor profile: Estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and androgen receptor (AR)-positive cells (Vranic et al. 2013) (Fig. 1a–c).
Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) slide of a case of invasive carcinoma of the breast with a characteristic apocrine morphology; the tumor cells are negative for ER-α66 (ER), but stain positively for androgen receptor (AR). Her-2/neu protein was overexpressed exhibiting a complete, intense membrane...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Costa, L. J., Justino, A., Gomes, M., Alvarenga, C. A., Gerhard, R., Vranic, S., Gatalica, Z., Machado, J. C., & Schmitt, F. (2013). Comprehensive genetic characterization of apocrine lesions of the breast. Cancer Research, 73, 2013.
Gatalica, Z. (1997). Immunohistochemical analysis of apocrine breast lesions. Consistent over-expression of androgen receptor accompanied by the loss of estrogen and progesterone receptors in apocrine metaplasia and apocrine carcinoma in situ. Pathology Research and Practice, 193, 753–758.
Gromov, P., Espinoza, J. A., & Gromova, I. (2015). Molecular and diagnostic features of apocrine breast lesions. Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics, 15, 1011–1022.
O’Malley, F., & Lakhani, S. R. (2012). Carcinoma with apocrine differentiation. In S. R. Lakhani, I. O. Ellis, S. J. Schnitt, P. H. Tan, & M. J. van de Vijver (Eds.), World Health Organization classification of tumours of the breast (4th ed., pp. 53–54). Lyon: International Agency of Research and Cancer (IARC).
Shao, M. M., Chan, S., Yu, A., Lam, C., Tsang, J., Lui, P., Law, B., Tan, P. H., & Tse, G. (2012). Keratin expression in breast cancers. Virchows Archiv, 461, 313–322.
Vranic, S., Gatalica, Z., Frkovic-Grazio, S., Deng, H., Lee, L. M. J., Gurjeva, O., & Wang, Z. Y. (2011). ER-α36 a novel isoform of ER-α66 is commonly over-expressed in apocrine and adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 64, 54–57.
Vranic, S., Schmitt, F., Sapino, A., Costa, J. L., Castro, M., Reddy, S., & Gatalica, Z. (2013). Apocrine carcinoma of the breast: A comprehensive review. Histology and Histopathology, 28, 1393–1409.
Vranic, S., Feldman, R., & Gatalica, Z. (2017). Apocrine carcinoma of the breast: A brief update on the molecular features and targetable biomarkers. Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, 17, 9–11.
Zhang, N., Zhang, H., Chen, T., & Yang, Q. (2017). Dose invasive apocrine adenocarcinoma has worse prognosis than invasive ductal carcinoma of breast: Evidence from SEER database. Oncotarget, 8, 24579–24592.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Vranic, S., Gatalica, Z. (2018). Apocrine Carcinoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4693-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4693-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1
eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine