Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma of the breast: Clinicopathological analysis of a distinctive and rare variant of lobular carcinoma

Abstract

Olfa El Amine, Leila Bouhaja, Ines Chaar, Aida Goucha,Ahmed El May, Amor Gammoudi

Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma (PLC) of the breast is an uncommon variant of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), accounting for 0.67% of all breast carcinomas and <5% of lobular carcinoma. This lesion is usually misdiagnosed as infiltrating ductal carcinoma. It has been identified as a distinct entity from classic ILC and is reported to be associated with a more aggressive clinical behavior than classic lobular carcinoma. In this report, we aim to describe radiological and pathological characteristics of PLC and to review the therapeutic management. We present a new case of PLC occurring in a 74-year-old woman, consulting for a retro-areolar mass in the right breast, measuring 3 cm in great diameter. She underwent a mastectomy. The tumor was described as PLC. Radiologically, the PLC is most commonly similar to invasive ductal carcinoma. It is described as a speculated mass on mammography or ultrasonography. However, unlike the classic variant, the tumor cells of the pleomorphic variant of ILC are larger and have abundant cytoplasm with large hyperchromatic nuclei that show prominent nucleoli. Positivity for hormone receptors and amplification of human epidermal growth factor-2/neu in PLC suggest that endocrine-related targeted therapy and trastuzumab may be valuable treatment regimens for these patients.