Breast
Invasive breast carcinoma of no special type and variants
Glycogen rich
Author: Monika Roychowdhury, M.D.
Last author update: 1 August 2012
Last staff update: 4 March 2021
Copyright: 2001-2023, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed search: glycogen rich [title] carcinoma breast
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Radiology images | Prognostic factors | Case reports | Gross images | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Cytology description | Positive stains | Negative stains | Electron microscopy description | Differential diagnosis | Additional referencesCite this page: Roychowdhury M. Glycogen rich. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/breastmalignantglycogenrich.html. Accessed March 30th, 2023.
Definition / general
- Breast carcinoma in which at least 90% of the neoplastic cells have abundant clear cytoplasm due to glycogen
- First described in 1981 (Cancer 1981;48:2003)
- Rare, 1% - 3% of breast carcinomas
- May be a variant of apocrine carcinoma
Radiology images
Images hosted on other servers:
Mammogram shows circumscribed mass
Prognostic factors
- Prognosis similar to invasive ductal carcinoma (Am J Surg Pathol 1995;19:904)
Case reports
- 33 year old woman whose tumor had neuroendocrine features (Pathologica 2001;93:676)
- 45 year old woman with solid papillary tumor (J Clin Pathol 2003;56:552)
- 55 year old woman (Case Rep Oncol 2011;4:452)
- 59 year old woman (World J Surg Oncol 2008;6:44)
- 61 year old woman (Arch Med Lab Pathol 2003;127:1629)
- Intraductal lipid rich carcinoma with component of glycogen rich carcinoma (J Breast Cancer 2012;15:135)
Gross images
Images hosted on other servers:
Solid papillary pattern within cystically dilated duct (Fig 1A)
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Solid or solid / papillary patterns of large clear cells with distinct cell borders containing glycogen in 90% or more cells
- Often associated with intraductal component of varied type
- Often has apocrine features
- Cells have clear to granular cytoplasm
- May have scant intracellular mucin (Histopathology 1987;11:857)
- No cytoplasmic vacuoles
Microscopic (histologic) images
AFIP images
are due to glycogen,
and are abolished
by diastase
a small group of
tumor cells with
amphophilic cytoplasm
Sheets of polygonal cells with
distinct borders, clear cytoplasm
and small nuclei, also lymphocytes
and plasma cells (arrows)
Images hosted on other servers:
Various images
Intraductal lipid rich carcinoma with component of glycogen rich carcinoma
Resembles renal clear cell carcinoma
CK8 / 18+
Polygonal cells with distinct cell
borders, clear cytoplasm and
prominent nucleoli (Fig 1B / 1C)
Cytology description
- Hypercellular with tumor cells in loosely cohesive syncytial groups and some single cells
- Most tumor cells have abundant, finely granular eosinophilic cytoplasm or foamy to clear cytoplasm with well defined cytoplasmic membranes and moderate / marked nuclear pleomorphism with central round/oval nuclei containing prominent nucleoli (Acta Cytol 2008;52:65)
- PAS staining may be helpful (J Med Invest 2002;49:193)
Positive stains
- PAS diastase sensitive (glycogen)
Negative stains
- CK20, lipid stains (done on fresh / frozen tissue)
Electron microscopy description
- Non membrane bound glycogen and empty glycogen lakes
- Tight junctions between tumor cells, immature desmosomes, occasional short microvilli (Am J Surg Pathol 1986;10:553)
Differential diagnosis
- Apocrine carcinoma
- Clear cell "sugar" tumor: positive for melanocytic markers (Am J Surg Pathol 2002;26:670)
- Lipid rich carcinoma: positive for lipid stains, negative for glycogen
- Myoepithelial lesions
- Secretory carcinoma: younger patients, low grade histology
Additional references
