A case report of invasive cribriform carcinoma of the breast

Abstract

Invasive cribriform carcinoma (ICC) is a histological type of breast cancer, first reported by Page et al in 1983. They classified this breast cancer into classical and mixed types, but now a pure type has been added to World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of breast cancer. Herein, we report a case of ICC who had felt a lump in her right breast 10 years prior to resection. The patient was a 71-year-old woman. She had been aware of a lump in her left breast since 2000, but did not go to a hospital. From January 2010, she felt the lump enlarging, and she visited our department in April. Aspiration biopsy cytology showed the lump to possibly be malignant. As she refused further examination, modified radical mastectomy and left axillary node dissection were performed. The histopathological diagnosis was ICC (pure type), 30mm tumor, WHO grade 1, ly(-), v(-), ER(+), PgR(+), HER2(1+), n0, pT2pN0M0, pStageIIA. In foreign countries, the incidence of ICC is reportedly 0.3 to 4.9% of all breast cancers, but there are few reports of this tumor in Japan. The prognosis of ICC patients is reported to be excellent, because the 5- and 10- year survival rates are 100% and 91%, respectively. Moreover, reported positive rates for ICC estrogen receptors and progesterone reseptors are 100% and 69%, respectively, and the HER2 positive rate of ICC is 0%. We consider these factors to possibly contribute to the excellent prognosis of ICC patients.