Clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of mucinous breast carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The clinical features and prognosis of mucinous breast carcinoma (MBC) are unclear because of its rarity. The aim was to describe the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with MBC in comparison with nonmucinous breast carcinoma (NMBC). Furthermore, we described the biological behavior of pure mucinous breast carcinoma (PMBC) by comparing clinicopathological features and prognosis with mixed mucinous breast carcinoma (MMBC).

METHODS: We reviewed the records of 5,872 consecutive patients diagnosed with breast carcinoma who were resected surgically from March 2003 to October 2010. Among them, 117 patients with MBC were compared to 5,575 patients with NMBC. Furthermore, 88 patients with PMBC were compared to 29 patients with MMBC.

RESULTS: There were statistical differences in age, pN stage, ER level, and PR level between the patients with MBC and NMBC. There were statistical differences in pT stage and pN stage between the patients with PMBC and MMBC. The overall five-year survival of patients with MBC was 88.1 % as compared with 81.9 % for patients with NMBC. The overall five-year survival of patients with PMBC was 91.3 % as compared with 80.4 % for patients with MMBC. The overall five-year survival of patients with PMBC was 91.3 % as compared with 81.9 % for patients with NMBC.

CONCLUSIONS: PMBC tended to have a better prognosis in comparison with other types of breast carcinoma.