Solid variant of a pure intracystic papillary carcinoma of the breast: case report.

Intracystic papillary carcinoma (IPC) of the breast is an uncommon malignant breast neoplasm and usually occurs in advanced age. It is characterized by a more benign behavior and a subsequent higher survival rate. We describe such a case of a 58-year-old female, who displayed a gradually growing tumor of the right breast. The lesion was well circumscribed and had a hard consistency with a cystic appearance. Mammography, breast ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration cytology failed to obtain a definite diagnosis. Based on the preoperative clinical identification of right axillary lymphadenopathy, the patient eventually underwent segmental resection of the right breast and right axillary nodal dissection. As regards the histological findings, the neoplasm corresponded to a pure intracystic papillary carcinoma of the solid variant. IPC represents a breast tumor with papillary differentiation growing inside a cyst, and excisional biopsy is often necessary to confirm the disease. Careful pathological examination is essential, to exclude the presence of coexistent ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive carcinoma.