Abstract:

Background and purpose: Encapsulated papillary carcinoma (EPC) of the breast is a kind of rare malignant tumor, which is difficult to diagnose before surgery. In this study, we analyzed the clinical-pathological features, treatment and prognosis of 11 EPC cases of breast treated in our hospital. Methods: A total number of 11 cases with EPC treated in our hospital from 2005 to 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The average age of onset was about 64 years-old, ranging from 40 to77 years-old. The mass was mostly located on “nipple-areola complex”, and “complex cyst with mural nodule” was the ultrasound imaging. In all 11 EPC patients, there were 3 patients coexisting with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and 3 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). ER, PR expression of all patients were positive and HER-2 expression was negative, and all myoepithelial cell markers surrounding cyst wall, including Actin, SMA, S-100, and p63 were negative. There was no axillary lymph node metastasis in all patients and during follow-up time, there was no local recurrence and distant metastasis and all patients were still alive. Conclusion: EPC is a good- prognosis breast tumor in old women, and is commonly coexisting with DCIS or invasive ductal carcinoma. The treatment principle is the same to DCIS when pure EPC or accomplished with DCIS, and the same to IDC when coexisting with IDC.

Key words: Encapsulated papillary carcinoma, Ductal carcinoma in situ, Prognosis