HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

Apocrine carcinoma of the breast: A comprehensive review

Semir Vranic1,2, Fernando Schmitt3,4, Anna Sapino2, Jose Luis Costa4, Sandeep Reddy5, Michael Castro5 and Zoran Gatalica5

1Department of Pathology, Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy, 3Department of Pathology and Oncology, Medical Faculty of Porto University, Porto, Portugal, 4Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal and 5Caris Life Sciences, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America.

Offprint requests to: Zoran Gatalica, MD, DSc, 4610 S 44th Place Phoenix, AZ 85040, USA. e-mail: zgatalica@carisls.com


Summary. Apocrine carcinoma of the breast is a rare, special type of breast carcinoma showing distinct morphologic, immunohistochemical and molecular genetic features. Apocrine epithelium has a characteristic steroid receptor profile that is estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor negative and androgen receptor positive. This combination of morphologic and immunohistochemical characteristics is essential for the proper recognition of the apocrine carcinomas. Strictly defined, apocrine carcinomas express either Her-2/neu or EGFR, which along with androgen receptor positivity make patients with the apocrine carcinoma eligible for targeted therapies
. Histol Histopathol 28, 1393-1409 (2013)

Key words: Breast cancer, Special types, Apocrine carcinoma, Androgen receptor

DOI: 10.14670/HH-28.1393