Secretory Carcinoma of the Breast: Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Secretory carcinoma of the breast is an extremely rare subtype of breast cancer characterized by intracellular or extracellular secretion and granular eosinophilic cytoplasm of the neoplastic cells. The disease which was considered to be predominant in younger age group has been recognized in adult population too and tends to show slow growth and indolent behavior. The disease occurs preferentially in females and only 27 cases have been reported amongst males. An optimal treatment for the disease subtype has been debated because of the paucity of data. We report two cases (one female and one male) of this rare disease that underwent treatment at our institution.

Clinicoradiologicial aspects of secretory carcinoma breast: A rare pediatric breast malignancy

“…There is no consensus on ideal treatment strategy for secretory breast carcinoma. [145678] However, breast conservative surgery (BCS) is considered the mainstay of treatment. Axillary metastasis is rare, with an incidence of about 30% in children.…”

“…[4567] The role of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy is not established, though their administration following BCS, improves locoregional control. [567] Since, usually secretory tumors are triple negative, effectiveness of hormone therapy is of little use. Recently, the identification of specific ETV6-NTRK3 fusion gene mutation is considered to be a breakthrough in formulating targeted molecular therapies for this disease in the near future.…”

“…[1] Various investigators in past have reported the clinicopathological characteristics, but there is paucity of literature on its imaging features. [4567] We report a case of secretory carcinoma breast, in an 11-year-old girl, with distant and axillary metastasis. Distant metastases from secretory carcinoma are extremely rare with only five cases reported, with ours being the sixth case, to the best of our knowledge.…”

Estrogen Receptor Positive Secretory Breast Carcinoma in a Bangladeshi Elderly Woman Diagnosed by Core Needle Biopsy

“…Henceforth, it was renamed! 2,3 . Clinically, SBC follows an indolent course with better outcomes in adolescents whereas, in elderly age groups, clinical course is quite similar to that of IDC 4 .Cases of SBC have been identified in both sexes and female to male ratio is 6:1 3 .…”

“…2,3 . Clinically, SBC follows an indolent course with better outcomes in adolescents whereas, in elderly age groups, clinical course is quite similar to that of IDC 4 .Cases of SBC have been identified in both sexes and female to male ratio is 6:1 3 . The tumor can metastasize to lymphnodes and shows more aggressive course in male patients.As it has been proven that SBC can recur after local excision, therefore, total or modified radical mastectomy with axillary lymph nodes clearance is advocated as the standard therapeutic approach.…”