Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast

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Case Report

Author Details : Rupinderjeet Kaur, Puneet Kaur, Jasbir Singh, Monika Bansal

Volume : 3, Issue : 3, Year : 2016

Article Page : 520-521

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Abstract

Background: Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast is a rare entity. Most patients are in the sixth to seventh decade of life. The criteria for diagnosis were established by the WHO in 2003, and modified in 2013. Based on the limited number of studies done; this entity is thought to have a worse prognosis compared to the usual type of intraductal carcinoma.
Case Report: A 45 year old woman presented in the surgical outpatient department with complaint of lump breast. Fine needle aspiration was performed and the case was reported as suspicious of malignancy. Biopsy was advised for further evaluation. Histopathology showed a cellular tumor exhibiting a sheeting pattern with interspersed rosettes. The individual cells were relatively monomorphic, with a salt and pepper chromatin. Intraductal component was also identified. Based on the characteristic morphology and presence of chromogranin positivity in more than 50% of the tumor cells, the lump was diagnosed as primary neuroendocrine carcinoma, well differentiated.
Conclusion: This case has been written up because of the rarity of this entity, its characteristic histopathological features, and the importance of differentiating it from intraductal carcinoma, due to a more aggressive course than invasive ductal carcinoma, with a higher propensity for local and distant recurrence and poorer overall survival attributed to this entity by some researchers.

Keywords: Breast, Chromogranin, Neuroendocrine carcinoma, Primary, Prognosis

How to cite : Kaur R, Kaur P, Singh J, Bansal M, Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast. Indian J Pathol Oncol 2016;3(3):520-521

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