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Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 41735183 DOI: 10.1097/PAS.0000000000002516

Clinicopathologic Analyses of 34 Cases of High-Grade Serous-Like Carcinoma (HG-SL-Ca) of the Breast.

Am J Surg Pathol

Authors: Yulin Haw, Gregor Krings, Wen-Yu Hsiao, Haiying Zhan, Yanjun Hou, Gloria Zhang, Huina Zhang, Shi Wei, Wei Yang, Marick Laé, Miriam D Post, Yi Liu, Eliah R Shamir, Marilin Rosa, Kalliopi Siziopikou, Stuart Schnitt, Yunn-Yi Chen, Xiaoxian Li

Affiliations

  • Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
  • Department of Pathology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
  • Department of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
  • Department of Pathology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
  • Department of Pathology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.
  • Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
  • Department of Pathology, Centre Henri Becquerel, Rouen, France.
  • Department of Pathology, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO.
  • Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Department of Pathology, Genentech.
  • NeoGenomics Laboratories, Inc. Fort Myers, FL.
  • Department of Pathology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
  • Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.
  • Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
  • Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

Abstract

High-grade serous-like carcinoma (HG-SL-Ca) of the breast is a newly recognized entity. We present the largest series with 34 cases. Inclusion criteria were breast carcinoma with ≥70% areas showing discordant well-formed tubules and high nuclear grade. Twenty-four (70.6%) were triple negative; 5 (14.7%) were ER+/HER2-; 2 (5.9%) were ER+/HER2+; and 3 (8.8%) were ER-/HER2+. Axillary lymph node metastasis was seen in 10 (31.3%) of 32 cases. Nine patients had neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 2 (22.2%) achieved pathologic complete response (pCR). Of the 32 patients with available follow-up data, 2 (6.3%) had local recurrence; 6 (18.8%) had distant metastasis; and 1 (3.1%) had both local recurrence and metastasis; 6 (18.8%) died of disease. Univariate analysis showed that only larger tumor size (P=0.04) was associated with shorter metastasis-free survival; and larger tumor size (P=0.003) and higher percentage of serous-like pattern (P=0.03) were associated with worse overall survival. 27 (81.8%) of 33 cases had aberrant p53 expression; 16 (64.0%) of 25 showed p16 block positivity; 26 (86.7%) of 30 showed at least focal GATA-3 staining; 25 (89.3%) of 28 were negative for nuclear WT1 (3 had focal staining); and 28 (96.6%) of 29 were negative for PAX-8 (1 had focal staining). HG-SL-Ca of the breast has distinct morphology and the majority show aberrant p53 expression. Patients showed a low pCR rate and poor outcomes. The distinct morphology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) profile and clinical presentations warrant classifying these tumors as a new entity. The morphologic features and IHC studies can help differentiate breast HG-SL-Ca from other carcinomas.

MeSH

Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms, Neoplasms, Neoplasm Metastasis, Breast, Pathology, Surgical