Mucinous breast carcinoma: A single-center experience

OBJECTIVE To analyze the clinical and histopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients treated and followed up for mucinous breast cancer (MBC). METHODS We retrospectively analyzed the clinical and histopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of 22 patients who were diagnosed with and treated for MBC at our center between 2004 and 2016. RESULTS The mean age was 50 (range: 26–68) years. Ten (47.6%) patients were premenopausal. The tumor was in the right side in 11 patients (50%), and 64% of the patients had early-stage disease. There were six patients with the mixed subtype and 16 with the pure subtype. Except for the two patients with metastatic disease, all patients underwent surgery. Axillary lymph node involvement was detected in seven (36%) patients, and the proportion of patients with the pure subtype was 18%. The average duration of follow-up was 59 months, during which, four patients had recurrent disease. At 5 years, 81% of the patients were alive. The 5-year overall survival rate with pure MBC was 93%. CONCLUSION MBC is a rare condition and carries a good prognosis. Pure MBC has low axillary lymph node metastasis and a higher survival rate. © 2018, Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology.