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Pleomorphic Lobular Carcinoma

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Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

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Definition

Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma (PLC) is currently defined by the World Health Organization (Lakhani et al. 2012) as a rare variant of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), exhibiting marked nuclear pleomorphism and cellular atypia. It may be associated with pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in situ (PLCIS), which refers to a lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) with high-grade cytological features. PLC was first documented by Martinez and Azzopardi (1979) then subsequently reported by Dixon (Dixon et al. 1982) and formally described by Page and Anderson (1987). Further characterization was provided in 1992 by Eusebi (Eusebi et al. 1992) and Weidner (Weidner and Semple 1992), who emphasized its aggressive behavior and poor clinical outcome.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence: The exact incidence of PLC is unknown because of its rare occurrence and the lack of large case studies addressing this issue. Based on current literature, PLC represents approximately 10–15% of ILC, thus accounting for...

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References and Further Reading

  • Al-Baimani, K., Bazzarelli, A., et al. (2015). Invasive pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast: Pathologic, clinical, and therapeutic considerations. Clinical Breast Cancer, 15, 421–425.

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  • Butler, D., & Rosa, M. (2013). Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast: A morphologically and clinically distinct variant of lobular carcinoma. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 137, 1688–1692.

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  • Derksen, P. W., Braumuller, T. M., et al. (2011). Mammary-specific inactivation of E-cadherin and p53 impairs functional gland development and leads to pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma in mice. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 4, 347–358.

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  • Dixon, J. M., Anderson, T. J., et al. (1982). Infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast. Histopathology, 6, 149–161.

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  • Eusebi, V., Magalhaes, F., et al. (1992). Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast: An aggressive tumor showing apocrine differentiation. Human Pathology, 23, 655–662.

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  • Jung, S. P., Lee, S. K., et al. (2012). Invasive pleomorphic lobularcarcinoma of the breast: Clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis compared with invasive ductal carcinoma. Journal of Breast Cancer, 15, 313–319.

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  • Lakhani, S., Ellis, I., et al. (2012). WHO classification of Tumours of the breast (4th ed.). Lyon: IARC Press.

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  • Liu, Y. L., Choi, C., et al. (2017). Invasive lobular breast carcinoma: Pleomorphic versus classical subtype, associations and prognosis. Clinical Breast Cancer, 8209(16), 30558–30554.

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  • Martinez, V., & Azzopardi, J. G. (1979). Invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast: Incidence and variants. Histopathology, 3, 467–488.

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  • Narendra, S., Jenkins, S. M., et al. (2015). Clinical outcome in pleomorphic lobular carcinoma: A case-control study with comparison to classic invasive lobular carcinoma. Annals of Diagnostic Pathology, 19, 64–69.

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  • Page, D. L., & Anderson, T. J. (1987). Diagnostic histopathology of the breast. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

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  • Simpson, P. T., Reis-Filho, J. S., et al. (2008). Molecular profiling pleomorphic lobular carcinomas of the breast: Evidence for a common molecular genetic pathway with classic lobular carcinomas. Journal of Pathology, 215, 231–244.

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  • Weidner, N., & Semple, J. P. (1992). Pleomorphic variant of invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. Human Pathology, 23, 1167–1171.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM) – Surgical Pathology Section – Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Sofia Asioli

  2. Pathology Unit, Giannina Gaslini Institute, Genoa, Italy

    Chiara Baldovini

Authors
  1. Sofia Asioli
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  2. Chiara Baldovini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sofia Asioli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Asioli, S., Baldovini, C. (2018). Pleomorphic Lobular Carcinoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4726-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_4726-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

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