Breast lipid-rich carcinoma: clinical features of 7 patients

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, appropriate diagnosis and prognosis of patients with breast lipid-rich carcinoma (L-RC). Methods: Clinical medical records and follow-up information of 7 patients with pathologically confirmed breast L-RC treated in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from May 2002 to November 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. The survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: Of 7 patients with breast L-RC, one was male and 6 were females. The median age of patients at the diagnosis was 48 years (range: 42-91 years). According to clinical staging, one patient was stageⅠ, five patients were stageⅡ, and one patient was stage Ⅲ. The positive expressions of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) were seen in 3 patients (42.9%), respectively. Pathologic types included luminal A type in one patient, luminal B type in three patients, and triple-negative type in three patients. The median survival time was 37 months (range: 8-90 months). The median disease-free survival time was 27 months (range: 6-90 months). The 2-year overall survival rate was 57.1% and the 5-year overall survival rate was 28.6%. The clinical stage was a prognostic factor of breast L-RC (χ2 = 8.692, P = 0.013). Conclusion: So far, this study reports the second male case of breast L-RC in China. No HER-2 overexpression subtype is observed among these 7 patients. Clinical stage may be a prognostic factor of breast L-RC. DOI:10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2016.44.251