Home   Chapter Home   Jobs   Conferences   Fellowships   Books

Advertisement

Breast malignant, males, children

Carcinoma subtypes

Sebaceous carcinoma

Reviewer: Monika Roychowdhury, M.D. (see Reviewers page)
Revised: 4 November 2012, last major update August 2012
Copyright: (c) 2001-2012, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

Definition
=========================================================================

● Very rare primary breast carcinoma resembling skin adnexal tumor with sebaceous differentiation, but no evidence of cutaneous derivation (see J Med Case Rep 2008;2:276 for cutaneous tumor of breast)

Clinical features
=========================================================================

● Associated with Muir-Torre syndrome (Cancer 2005;103:1018)

Case reports
=========================================================================

● 45 year old woman with extensive metastatic disease (Pathol Int 2000;50:63)
● 46 year old woman with Muir-Torre syndrome (AJR Am J Roentgenol 2000;174:541)
● 50 year old woman (Pathol Int 2009;59:188)
● 63 year old woman (Virchows Arch 2006;449:484)
● 83 year old woman with tumor of nipple (J Cutan Pathol 2008;35:608)

Micro description
=========================================================================

● Well-defined solid sheets or lobules of atypical epithelial cells, including large, pale or clear cells with coarsely vacuolated cytoplasm, containing Oil red O staining lipid and often scalloped nuclei
● Often focal squamous morules

Micro images
=========================================================================

   
Malignant cells with sebaceous gland differentiation.


Focal calcification and necrosis

Conjunctiva:

Sebaceous carcinoma

Skin:
 
Various images

Positive stains
=========================================================================

● Cytokeratin, including 35betaH11 (Pathol Res Pract 1993;189:888), EMA
● ER, PR, Oil Red O
● Mismatch repair genes: MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, MSH6 (Ceska Gynekol 2010;75:50)
● Some cells may express neuroendocrine markers

Negative stains
=========================================================================

● GCDFP-15, CEA, S100 and vimentin
● Alpha smooth muscle actin, p63, androgen receptor (usually), mucins, HER2 and CK15

Electron microscopy description
=========================================================================

● Empty appearing, non-membrane bound vacuoles

Differential diagnosis
=========================================================================

● Apocrine carcinoma: >90% of tumor cells have cytologic or immunohistochemical features of apocrine cells
● Lipid rich carcinoma: usually not coarsely vacuolated, often squamous morules, usually HER2+, ER-, PR-

End of Breast malignant, males, children > Carcinoma subtypes > Sebaceous carcinoma

This information is intended for physicians and related personnel, who understand that medical information is often imperfect, and must be interpreted in the context of a patient's clinical data using reasonable medical judgment. This website should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a licensed physician.

All information on this website is protected by copyright of PathologyOutlines.com, Inc. Information from third parties may also be protected by copyright. Please contact us at copyrightPathOut@gmail.com with any questions (click here for other contact information).