mucinous carcinoma

Last reviewed 01/2018

Mucinous carcinoma of the breast is a form of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Macroscopically, there may be:

  • soft consistency
  • gray-blue colouration

Histologically it is characterised by:

  • tumour cells:
    • small
    • vacuolated
    • aggregate in islands or in glandular pattern
  • profuse amounts of mucous material, both intra- and extracellular

It accounts for 2-3% of all invasive cancer. It has a relatively good prognosis and this may be due to its tendency to metastasize only at a very late stage.