Apocrine carcinoma: Clinical and mammographic features

PURPOSE: To describe the mammographic features of apocrine carcinoma and assess the patterns of calcifications associated with these lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical and mammographic features from 17 patients with apocrine carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. Special attention was paid to the presence of mixed form, diffusely scattered microcalcifications on mammograms. RESULTS: Patients were referred for clinical (n = 10), mammographic (n = 2), or both clinical and mammographic (n = 5) abnormalities. Findings at clinical examination included a palpable breast mass (n = 12), multiple breast masses (n = 1), and bloody nipple discharge (n = 2); two patients had normal findings. Fourteen patients had opacities at mammography. These opacities were associated with microcalcifications in 10 cases. Three patients had microcalcifications without opacifies; one of those three patients exhibited a mixed form of diffusely scattered calcifications. CONCLUSION: Clinical and mammographic features of apocrine carcinoma do not differ from those of invasive ductal carcinoma.