TUBULAR CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST-CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF 13 CASES-

Tubular carcinoma of the breast was employed as a new invasive histologic type in General Rule for Clinical and Pathological Record of Mammary Cancer in 1984. Among 1891 patients operated on for breast cancer at the department from 1972 to 1990, 13 cases (0.71%) had a tubular carcinoma. It has been reported that the tubular carcinoma grows at lower speed than that expected from its biological feature, and so it can be detected in a relatively small tumor; and lymph node involvement occurs in a low frequency. In this study the indication of breast-conserving operation which has been increasingly performed recently was investigated. These tubular carcinomas were histopathologically classified into pure-type (7 cases; 53.8%) which is almost occupied with 100%-tubular carcinoma element and mixed-type (6 cases; 46.2%) in which tubular carcinoma element coexists with other histologic type. As to their prognoses, one of 13 patients (7.7%) died of recurrence, but long survival was noted in all pure-type patients, though lymph node metastasis was observed. It is thought that the disease can be a possible candidate for breast-conserving operation.