Case Of Metaplastic Breast Cancer Research Articles

Recurrent Metaplastic Breast Cancer with Subtype Converted from Triple-Negative to HER2-Positive: A Case Report and Literature Review

Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is an extremely rare malignant breast disease that has rarely been reported. The molecular subtype of MBC is mostly triple-negative, with a high recurrence rate and a worse prognosis. Due to its low HR- and HER2-positive rate, reports on endocrine and targeted therapy are very limited. We report a case of infrequent triple-negative MBC, which, although at an early stage, quickly developed multiple recurrent lesions in the chest wall. The tumor relapsed repeatedly after comprehensive treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, pathological results after the third surgery suggested that the molecular subtype had changed from triple-negative to HER2-positive. The previous comprehensive treatment had not been able to effectively control the disease, but the patient achieved a long progression-free survival time through chemotherapy and trastuzumab targeted therapy after the subtype change. To date, there has been no recurrence for over eight years. Among repeatedly relapsed MBC patients, further investigation should be taken into consideration. As in the case presented in our study, it is possible that the HER2 status can convert from negative to overexpression. Moreover, for HER2-positive MBC patients, anti-HER2 therapy is recommended. The decision-making process requires multidisciplinary involvement.

Metaplastic Breast Cancer with Chondroid Differentiation

Background: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) cancer is a rare subtype of breast carcinoma and carries a worse prognosis. Chondroid differentiation is the rarest among all its histologic subtypes. We report a case of MBC with chondroid differentiation and review its clinicopathological details, genetic basis, and management.Case presentation: A 56-year female presented with right-sided large breast lump. She noticed this lump 4 months before presenting. Trucut biopsy was suggestive of invasive ductal carcinoma. She underwent breast conservation surgery and histology was consistent with MBC with chondroid differentiation, pT2N3aM0. Tumour was triple-negative for ER, PR, and Her-2- neu receptors. Adjuvant treatment with chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy was given and she has been doing fine during 11 months of follow-up.Conclusion: The MBC is an uncommon subtype with heterogeneity in biological and morphological features and its knowledge is paramount while evaluating a breast lump. Understanding the pathologic and molecular basis is imperative in developing the targeted therapy to improve outcomes.

A Case of Metaplastic Breast Cancer with Rapid Growth in an Elderly Women

A Case of Metaplastic Breast Cancer with Rapid Growth in an Elderly Women

Abstract P3-08-66: Metaplastic breast cancer in patients older than 65 years

Abstract Background: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare histologic subtype of breast cancer. It comprises less than 1% of all breast cancers. We evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of MBC in geriatric patients older than age 65. Methods: We reviewed the chart of the pathologically proven MBC cases from 2000-2017. Only patients with age more than 65 years were included in the study for analysis. Results: A total of 48 MBC patients were included in the study. Thirty-six (76%) were white and 11 (23%) black. The number of patients in stages I, II, III, and IV were 12, 26, 6, and 4, respectively; 39 (81%) had nuclear grade III. Three (6%) had progesterone receptor positive, 3 (6%) were Her2 positive, and 4 (10%) were estrogen receptor positive. The most common distant metastases were lung (20%), followed by bone (12%). Fifty percent had a lumpectomy, 11% had hormonal therapy, and 60% had radiation therapy. Only 50% of patients received chemotherapy, out of which 46% received anthracycline. On univariable analysis, stage of the MBC and metastasis to the lung, bone, and brain were associated with worse overall survival (OS). There was no statistical significance in OS when stage II was compared with stage I MBC. Stage III had median OS of 18 months with HR of 3.25 (95% CI 0.85, 12.44) (p=0.086) and stage IV had 10 months median OS with HR of 11.17, (95% CI 2.37, 52.62) (p=0.002). Hormonal therapy, radiation therapy, and type of chemotherapy (anthracycline vs. non-anthracycline) did not show any statistical significance in regards to OS and progression-free survival. Conclusion: In our study, MBC demonstrated overall poor survival and progression-free survival. Only stage of the MBC and metastasis to brain bone and lung proved to predict worse survival. Citation Format: Johnny Chahine, Bicky Thapa, Xuefei Jia, Abdo Haddad. Metaplastic breast cancer in patients older than 65 years [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-08-66.

A population-based analysis of treatment and outcomes in 2,500 metaplastic breast cancer patients.

532 Background: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare, aggressive variant that is often triple negative (TN). Current guidelines recommend use of standard receptor-based treatment for MBC despite evidence of chemoresistance. We sought to compare treatment patterns and outcomes of MBC and non-MBC. Methods: Women age > 18 with stage I-III MBC and non-MBC histology diagnosed from 2010-2013 were identified in the National Cancer Database. Kaplan Meier and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate MBC association with overall survival (OS). Subgroup analyses were conducted for (1) MBC patients only and (2) TN MBC and TN non-MBC patients. Results: 2451 MBC and 568,057 non-MBC patients were included. 70.3% of MBC were TN vs 11.3% of non-MBC (p < 0.001). 19.2% of MBC were luminal (i.e., ER+ and/or PR+, and HER2-). MBC presented with higher clinical T stage (cT4: 5.4% vs 1.8%) and grade (grade 3: 72.1% vs 29.7%) but was less frequently node-positive (19.1% vs 29.7%, all p < 0.001). A higher proportion of MBC patients were treated with mastectomy (59.0% vs 44.9%), axillary dissection (ALND, 35.2% vs 32.2%), and chemotherapy (74.1% vs 43.1%, all p≤0.001). 5-year OS was reduced among MBC vs non-MBC patients for both the entire cohort (72.7% vs 87.5%) and the TN-only analysis (71.1% vs 77.8%, both log-rank p < 0.001). Among MBC cases, TN subtype was not associated with worse OS than the luminal subtype (HR 1.16, p = 0.28). Chemotherapy (HR 0.69, p = 0.004) and/or radiotherapy (HR 0.52, p < 0.001) improved OS in MBC, and the proportional benefit of chemotherapy did not vary with pathological T or N stage (interaction p > 0.05 for both). Among TN patients, a higher proportion of TN MBC patients underwent mastectomy (58.4% vs 49.5%, p < 0.001), but in contrast to the full cohort, a lower proportion of TN MBC patients received chemotherapy (76.6% vs. 78.7%, p = 0.008) and ALND (35.2% vs. 38.2%, p = 0.01) vs TN non-MBC patients. Conclusions: MBC had worse OS vs non-MBC, and unlike other histologies, outcome was not driven by receptor status. Multimodal therapy improved outcomes. Further investigation into MBC tumor biology and the development of MBC-specific guidelines could potentially improve treatment standardization and outcomes.

Metaplastic Breast Cancer and p16 Positivity: What Does It Mean?

Background: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a heterogeneous group of malignant breast tumor having different morphologic subtypes. Very little is known about the mechanisms which underlie the pathophysiology of metaplastic breast cancer. This study aimed to assess the p16 positivity in MBC cases. Methods: A single center series of MBC cases were subjected to immunohistochemical (IHC) testing for p16 using a monoclonal antibody. Results: 14 out of 15 cases showed squamous metaplasia and 13of the latter had p16 positivity in the metaplastic component. Conclusion: The significance of this high level of positivity of the p16 is curious and its significance if validated in larger numbers is so far uncertain. We present some views on it.

Metaplastic Breast Cancer and EGFR Expression

Aim: Metaplastic breast cancer has poor prognosis and is usually triple negative. Although it is morphologically more heterogeneous than triple negative breast cancers, expression profile is more homogeneous. In this study, we investigated our metaplastic breast cancer cases regarding their pathology and clinical characteristics. Material and Method: 16 metaplastic breast cancer cases from four different center were included in the study. Pathol ogy and clinical characteristics of the cases were evaluated retrospectively. Results: All the cases are female and median age is 48 (39-45). Tumor is commonly localized to the outer quadrant and mean diameter of the mass is 37.5 (15-100) mm. Tumor diameter is ≤20 mm in 3 (15.8%), >20-≤50 mm in 11 (57.9%) and >50 mm in 3 (10.51%) of the cases. Only 4 (16.1%) patients have axillary lymph node involvement. When considering histological subtypes, five of the cases has squamous cell, five of them has spindle cell, one of them has mucoepidermoid, and in five cases the subtype was not identified. Considering hormone receptor status ER and PR was nega tive in 78.9%, 63.2% respectively. HER2 protein expression was positive by immunohistochemical staining in 1 (5.3%) case. CK5/6 and CK17 was both positive in 7 (36.8%) cases. EGFR expression was positive in 4 (21.1%) cases, was negative in 5 (26.3%) cases and not identified in 7 (36.8%) cases. Three of the cases were offered neoadjuvant chemotherapy. As neoadjuvant chemotherapy, anthracycline and taxane combination (n:2 TAC, n:1 AC-paclitaxel) was preferred. Mean follow-up was 41 months. Mean survival was 42.4 months in EGFR negative patients and 47.5 months in EGFR positive patients. This difference was not statistically significant. During follow-up 3 cases had recurrence. Discussion: EGFR expression is seen in metaplastic breast cancer. Although EGFR expression is related to poor prognosis, it is not a predictive marker. Therefore, predictive molecular markers are required for new approaches in treatment.

A Rare Breast Cancer: Metaplastic Carcinoma

Metaplastic breast cancer (MCB) is a rare tumor with poor prognosis which shows pathologic carcinomatous and sarcomatous features. There are nospecific radiological findings. Radiological findings may vary depending on the components that the lesion contains. We presented a case of metaplastic breast cancer in a 30 year old woman with left cystic lesion who was followed up with intermittant cyst puncture at a different center, and discussed the findings along with the similar cases published in the literature.

Single-institution experience with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for metaplastic breast cancer (MBC).

140 Background: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare subtype that accounts for <1% of all breast carcinomas. MBC is frequently triple-negative and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is often used in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The objective of this analysis is to ascertain response rates of MBC to NAC as compared to non-metaplastic TNBC. Methods: We searched the Magee Women’s Cancer Center of UPMC IRB-approved neo-adjuvant treatment database which contains outcome data on 594 patients treated from 2004-2010. 116 patients with triple negative breast cancer (ER /PR negative or ER /PR weakly positive [H score of 10 or less] and HER2 negative or indeterminate [HER2 1+ or 2+ without amplification by FISH]), were identified. Nine of these TNBCs had metaplastic subtype and two groups were analyzed: metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) (N= 9) and non-metaplastic breast carcinoma (NMBC) (N = 107). Tumor volume reduction (TVR), pathologic complete response (pCR), recurrence and mortality were compared in both groups. Results: Average follow-up in MBC group was 43 months and no patients were lost to follow-up. Average tumor size on presentation in MBC group was 4.47 cm while in NMBC group it was 3.33 cm. pCR was noted in 0/9 MBC and 43/107 NMBC cases (p = 0.0253). 6/9 patients had mastectomy, 2/9 had breast conserving surgery (BCS) and 1/9 patients did not have a surgery yet. Average TVR was 28% in MBC cases compared to 74% in NMBCs when cases with pCR were included (p = 0.0001) and 56% when cases with pCR were excluded (p = 0.0202). Follow up on 9 MBC cases revealed 1 recurrence and subsequent death (11%). Follow-up on 64 NMBC patients who failed to achieve pCR revealed 22 recurrences (34%) and 18 of them subsequently died (28%). Follow-up on 43 NMBC cases that achieved pCR revealed 3 recurrences (7%) and 1 death (2%). Conclusions: MBC was characterized by larger size at baseline as compared to NMBC. There were no pCR’s seen in MBC, but some MBC did achieve response that allowed for breast conservation. Although the average tumor volume reduction was significantly less in MBC compared to NMBC, the NMBC that failed to achieve pCR fared much worse than MBC who did not achieve pCR. Therefore, the triple-negative paradox is likely not applicable to MBC.

Single institution experience with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for metaplastic breast cancer (MBC).

1038 Background: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare subtype that accounts for <1% of all breast carcinomas. MBC is frequently triple negative and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is often used in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The objective of this analysis is to ascertain response rates of MBC to NAC as compared to non-metaplastic TNBC. Methods: We searched the Magee Women’s Cancer Center of UPMC IRB-approved neo-adjuvant treatment database which contains outcome data on 594 patients treated from 2004-2010. 116 patients with triple negative breast cancer (ER /PR negative or ER /PR weakly positive (H score of 10 or less) and HER2 negative or indeterminate (HER2 1+ or 2+ without amplification by FISH)), were identified. Nine of these TNBCs had metaplastic subtype and 2 groups were analyzed: metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) (N= 9) and non-metaplastic breast carcinoma (NMBC) (N = 107). Tumor volume reduction (TVR), pathologic complete response (pCR), recurrence and mortality were compared in both groups. Results: Mean follow up in MBC group was 43 months and no patients were lost to follow up. Mean tumor size on presentation in MBC group was 4.47 cm while in NMBC group it was 3.33 cm. pCR was noted in 0/9 MBC and 43/107 NMBC cases (p = 0.0253). 6/9 patients had mastectomy, 2/9 had breast conserving surgery (BCS) and 1/9 patients did not have a surgery yet. Average TVR was 28% in MBC cases compared to 74% in NMBCs when cases with pCR were included (p = 0.0001) and 56% when cases with pCR were excluded (p = 0.0202). Follow up on 9 MBC cases revealed 1 recurrence and subsequent death (11%). Follow up on 64 NMBC patients who failed to achieve pCR revealed 22 recurrences (34%) and 18 of them subsequently died (28%).Follow up on 43 NMBC cases that achieved pCR revealed 3 recurrences (7%) and 1 death (2%). Conclusions: MBC was characterized by larger size at baseline as compared to NMBC. There were no pCR’s seen in MBC, but some MBC did achieve response that allowed for breast conservation. Although the average tumor volume reduction was significantly less in MBC compared to NMBC, the NMBC that failed to achieve pCR fared much worse than MBC who did not achieve pCR. Therefore, the triple negative paradox is likely not applicable to MBC.

A case of metaplastic breast cancer that showed a good response to platinum-based preoperative chemotherapy

Patients with metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) exhibit reduced response to chemotherapy and have poor prognosis. We investigated a case of MBC that showed a positive response to preoperative chemotherapy, resulting in near pathological complete response (pCR). A 59-year-old woman complained of a lump in her right breast. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed the presence of a solid mass that was 24 mm in diameter. The pathological diagnosis was MBC with cartilaginous differentiation. The clinical stage was T2N0M0, stage IIA according to the International Union against Cancer (UICC) criteria. To observe the response to chemotherapy, we gave her preoperative chemotherapy. The patient was monitored closely, since we realized that failure of chemotherapy carries a risk of tumor progression. Evaluation was carried out using ultrasound, MRI, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), and a Ki-67 labeling index after the first cycle of chemotherapy, and ultrasound after each additional cycle. FDG-PET showed a positive response after the first cycle of chemotherapy. The patient underwent 4 cycles of docetaxel (75 mg/m(2)) and cisplatin (75 mg/m(2)) followed by 4 cycles of cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m(2)), doxorubicin (50 mg/m(2)), and cisplatin (50 mg/m(2)). Ultrasound showed decreases in tumor size after each cycle of chemotherapy. After chemotherapy, MRI showed nearly complete regression of the tumor. Partial mastectomy was performed. Pathological examination showed few cancer cells remaining, indicating near pCR. We report a case of MBC that responded well to platinum-based preoperative chemotherapy. We propose that preoperative chemotherapy may be an option for treatment of MBC in conjunction with careful monitoring.

Metaplastic Breast Cancer

A case of metaplastic breast cancer in a patient with a history of infiltrating ductal carcinoma is presented, including representative mammographic and pathologic findings. The correlation between coarse calcifications on mammography and heterologous osseous elements on histologic review is noted. A brief summary of the typical clinical and pathologic features, as well as clinical studies relating to metaplastic breast cancer, are presented.