Abstract
Tubular carcinoma of the breast is a specific type of infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Our objective was to assess our experience in diagnosing tubular carcinoma of the breast and to correlate its radiologic and histopathologic features. Between 1997 and 2011, we examined 8 patients with tubular carcinoma in our department. The mean age at diagnosis was 62 years (range, 50-85 years). Mammography revealed tubular carcinoma in 7 patients (88%) as a spiculated mass or distortion. Sonography also revealed tubular carcinoma as irregularly shaped hypoechoic lesions in 7 patients (88%). One patient underwent mastectomy, and the others underwent breast-conserving therapy. Pathological analysis showed that the mean gross tumor size was 1.1 cm (range, 0.4-1.5 cm). Sentinel node biopsy was performed in 4 patients, and negative results were obtained for malignancy in all cases. ER (estrogen receptor) results were positive for all patients. All patients except one, who died of another cause, were alive and disease-free at the time of writing this report. In conclusion, most cases of tubular carcinoma can be detected by mammography, and the malignant potential of tubular carcinoma is suspected to be low.
