The mucinous variant of columnar cell lesions

Anoek Hj Maes (1) , Paul van Diest (2)

1 Pathology
2 Department of Pathology

Aims: Mucin producing columnar cell lesion (CCL) is a rare new entity of the breast. This study describes the incidence and follow-up of mucinous CCLs. Methods and results: In 4164 breast core needle biopsies (CNB), 291 showed a CCL and 21 atypical ductal hyperplasias originated in a CCL (ADH-CCL). Mucin production was present in 17 of 291 (5.8%) CCLs and 3 of 21 (14.3%) ADH-CCLs, together concerning 0.5% of all CNBs. The most common mucinous CCL pattern was a columnar cell change without atypia and almost all were detected with microcalcifications as abnormality at mammography. During a median follow-up of 3.1 years, no invasive carcinoma or DCIS was detected. MUC2 was expressed in intraluminal mucin in 12 of 15 (80%) mucinous CCLs and showed cytoplasmic expression in 5 of 15 (33%) mucinous CCLs seen in CNBs. Moreover, mucinous CCLs were significantly more present in 46 mucinous carcinomas than in 46 ductal carcinomas (28% vs 9%). Conclusion: Mucinous CCLs are rare lesions with an incidence of about 0.5% of breast CNB, usually presenting with microcalcifications. Although these lesions might play a role in the mucinous progression spectrum, the short term risk of progression to more advanced lesions seems to be low.

Mots clés: Medicine

Anoek Hj Maes, Paul van Diest. The mucinous variant of columnar cell lesions. Histopathology, 2011, 58 (6), pp.847. ⟨10.1111/j.1365-2559.2011.03837.x⟩. ⟨hal-00642273⟩