Primary Neuroendocrine Neoplasms of the Breast: Case Series and Literature Review

Overview

Journal Cancers (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Specialty Oncology

Date 2020 Apr 5

PMID 32244940

Citations 13

Authors

Burcin Ozdirik

Antonin Kayser

Andrea Ullrich

Lynn J Savic

Markus Reiss

Frank Tacke

Bertram Wiedenmann

Henning Jann

Christoph Roderburg

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast (NECB) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012 is a rare, but possibly under-diagnosed entity. It is heterogeneous as it entails a wide spectrum of diseases comprising both well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors of the breast as well as highly aggressive small cell carcinomas. Retrospective screening of hospital charts of 612 patients (2008-2019) from our specialized outpatient unit for neuroendocrine neoplasia revealed five patients diagnosed with NECB. Given the low prevalence of these malignancies, correct diagnosis remains a challenge that requires an interdisciplinary approach. Specifically, NECB may be misclassified as carcinoma of the breast with neuroendocrine differentiation, carcinomas of the breast of no special type/invasive ductal carcinoma, or a metastasis to the breast. Therefore, this study presents multifaceted characteristics as well as the clinical course of these patients and discusses the five cases from our institution in the context of available literature.

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