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Apocrine Lesions

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Atlas of Differential Diagnosis in Breast Pathology

Part of the book series: Atlas of Anatomic Pathology ((AAP))

Abstract

Apocrine morphology is characterised by abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm containing finely granular, periodic acid–Schiff (PAS)-positive, diastase-resistant granules and moderate to large, centrally or eccentrically located nuclei with prominent nucleoli and distinctive cell borders. It is commonly observed in a wide variety of breast lesions, ranging from simple cysts to intraductal proliferative lesions with and without atypia, to invasive carcinoma. The majority of apocrine breast lesions are benign and have no major clinical consequences. They are often considered normal features of the female breast after the age of 25–30 years. Some apocrine proliferations may cause diagnostic problems, however, especially when they involve pre-existing lesions such as adenosis or papilloma. Accurate diagnosis and classification of these lesions is important. The biologic and clinical significance of breast carcinomas with apocrine morphology remains controversial, mainly because of the subjectivity of histopathological criteria and the lack of specific biomarkers for reliable classification of this histological subtype of breast carcinoma. Identification of novel molecular markers that can define apocrine carcinoma and determine the true clinical significance of apocrine differentiation in breast cancer is an area of active research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Puay Hoon Tan

  2. The University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Aysegul A. Sahin

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Tan, P.H., Sahin, A.A. (2017). Apocrine Lesions. In: Atlas of Differential Diagnosis in Breast Pathology. Atlas of Anatomic Pathology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6697-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6697-4_7

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