A denoidcysticcarcinomais a rarevariant of adenocarcinoma that usually occursinthemajorand minor salivary glands. Nevertheless, tumors with this patternhavebeenobservedin other organs including the breast, tracheobronchial tree, uterine cervix, larynx, and Bartholin's gland[ 1â€"5]. The cell of origin is obscure, but evidence suggests that it may be derived from the ductal epithelium and myoepithe hum [6]. Pathologically, the presenceof both cell types is necessary for the diagnosis of adenoidcysticcarcinomaof the breast.Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast constitutes lessthan 1% of all mammarycar cinomas. This unusual neoplasm of the breast has certain histopathologicand bio logic characteristics that distinguish it from more common histologic types. For example, the incidence of axillary lymph node in volvement is lower and distant metastases are uncommon, although they can occur without prior lymph nodeinvolvement.This lack of prognostic significance for negative axillary lymph nodes suggests that axillary dissectioncan be eliminatedfrom the surgi cal treatment of low-grade adenoid cystic carcinoma and that wide excision alone couldbe curativein thosecases[6]. The mammographic features of these le sions have scarcely been reported in the liter ature to our knowledge. We describe the clinical and mammographicfindingsand the histopathologic features of seven cases of proven adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Materials and MethodsA retrospective review of all cases of pathologi cally proven adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast between 1988and 1996 was undertakenat our de partment. During this 8-year period. a total of 1015 invasivebreast tumors were diagnosed:sevencases of adenoid cysticcarcinoma of thebreast werein cluded in the study. Clinical histories, mammo grams, and cytologic and histologic studies of these patients were reviewed. Women were from 40 to 79 years old (mean age. 60 years old).All patients underwent conventional X-ray mam mography. Standard craniocaudal and mediolateral oblique views of each breast were obtained.