Clinical and radiologic features of neuroendocrine breast carcinomas.

Neuroendocrine breast carcinoma is a rare and distinct type of breast carcinoma, with morphologic features similar to those of pulmonary and gastrointestinal tract neuroendocrine tumors. More than 50% of cells express neuroendocrine markers. We documented the clinical and radiologic features of 11 patients with histologically confirmed neuroendocrine breast carcinomas. Clinical manifestations included nipple discharge (6 patients) and palpable masses (5 patients). Lesions were mainly oval or irregular on mammography (n = 8), sonography (n = 11), and magnetic resonance imaging (n = 9). Understanding the clinical and radiologic features of neuroendocrine breast carcinoma will facilitate the differential diagnosis.