Preface

Abstract

Breast pathology can be challenging for all of us involved in diagnostic surgical pathology. Several areas of breast pathology are particularly difficult or problematic. Breast pathology is the focus of this issue of the Surgical Pathology Clinics series, and experts in the field have provided comprehensive reviews of commonly encountered problematic lesions in breast pathology, including proliferative epithelial lesions, fibroepithelial lesions, mucinous lesions, and spindle cell lesions. Additionally, this issue includes a state-of-the-art review of the use of myoepithelial markers in the differential diagnosis of benign, in situ, and invasive lesions, a differential diagnostic situation that many of us encounter daily. Finally, there is an article covering the topic of triple-negative breast cancers, a subtype of breast cancer that has garnered much interest in recent years because of the overlap with the recently described molecular subtype of basal-like breast cancers. In each article, high-quality photomicrographs complement the text where appropriate to further illustrate the relevant points. In addition, each article reviews the key features and differential diagnostic considerations of the lesions being discussed and highlights potential pitfalls to avoid. It is hoped that the reviews presented in this issue of the Surgical Pathology Clinics will be a useful resource to all pathologists involved in diagnostic breast pathology.