Radial scar and tubular carcinoma of the breast

Abstract

A case of tubular carcinoma within a radial scar pattern is reported. The aim of this study is to support t h e opinion of the authors who believe that there is a relationship between tubular carcinoma and radial scar. W e think t h a t surgical biopsy should be recommended in all cases of stellate lesions detected a t mammography.

Tubular carcinoma of the breast: Prognosis and response to adjuvant systemic therapy

“…Tubular carcinoma usually presents as a mass lesion on a screening mammogram with no unique radiological features, but has been described in association with radial scar. 9,10 Ultrasound has a high sensitivity and may detect mammographically occult lesions. 11 The present study is of patients entered into adjuvant therapy trials over a 21-year period that began before the advent of population-based mammographic screening.…”

Tubular carcinoma of the breast: pathological, clinical, and ultrasonographic findings. A review of the literature

“…Radial sclerosing lesions (radial scar, a central area of sclerosis composed of collagen and elastic tissue surrounded by stellate duct proliferation), presenting in many cases as spiculated masses, often mimic tubular carcinoma on histopathology. Some authors have discussed the potential malignancy of radial scar and suggest progression from radial scar to tubular carcinoma [11,12].…”

“…Le lesioni radiali sclerosanti (radial scar, un'area di sclerosi centrale costituita da tessuto collagene ed elastico e circondata da proliferazione cellulare con forma stellata), che si presentano in genere alla mammografia come masse spiculate, simulano spesso all'esame istopatologico il carcinoma tubulare. Alcuni autori hanno discusso sulla potenziale malignità della radial scar, ipotizzando un passaggio da radial scar a carcinoma tubulare [11,12].…”

Long term follow-up and risk of breast cancer after a radial scar or complex sclerosing lesion has been identified in a benign open breast biopsy

“…Several observations have led to this suggestion including similar mammographic and histological appearances [3][4][5][6][7]; the finding of carcinomas in radial scars [1,5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]; and the association with other forms of benign proliferative disease known to predispose to the development of breast cancer [17][18][19][20].…”

“…It is difficult to study the natural history of RS/CSLs given that they are quite rare and usually excised. The finding of cancers in association with these lesions has prompted the theory that they represent a premalignant condition [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In contrast, autopsy studies have commonly identified radial scars but they report no difference in the frequency of radial scars identified between women with and without breast malignancy [33,34].…”