Abstract:
Objective This study aims to investigate the clinicopathologic features of the apocrine carcinoma of the breast(ACB) and analyze the corresponding factors in its prognosis.
Methods Data from 140 patients with ACB undergoing surgery in the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from May 1984 to December 2008 were retrospectively analyzed.
Results The overall 5- and 10-year survival and disease-free survival rates were 84.0%and 63.0%and 73.0%and 61.0%, respectively.The postoperative positive axillary lymph nodes(ALN) accounted for 69.3%.Axillary node metastasis was correlated with the tumor size and location. The proportion of the ALN-positive cases was significantly higher in the group with a tumor diameter of 2 cm than those with a tumor diameter of≤2 cm(80.9%versus 49.0%, P=0.0002).The percentages of ACB patients who were positive for estrogen receptor(ER), progestin receptor(PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 were 36.5%, 37.5%, and 32.9%, respectively.The factors affecting the prognosis were tumor size, WHO tumor classification, node and metastasis classification, number of ALN-positive tumors, and extra-nodal soft tissue extension.These factors were assessed by univariate analysis(P=0.005, 0.024, 0.001, and 0.009).The multivariate analysis indicated that tumor size was the only independent factor that significantly affected the prognosis, (P=0.007).
Conclusion All patients have a lower frequency of ER and PR positivity and a higher frequency of axillary nodal metastasis.However, a favorable prognosis was achieved for the 5- and 10-year survival rates in most patients with ACB.