Pleomorphic lobular carcinoma: is it more similar to a classic lobular cancer or to a high-grade ductal cancer?

Background: Pleomorphic invasive lobular carcinoma (P-ILC) is an uncommon variety of invasive lobular carcinoma with aggressive clinical features. Little is described in the literature regarding this topic.

Materials and methods: We reviewed our experiences from 2010 to 2015 and compared 40 patients with P-ILC, 126 patients with classic-ILC (C-ILC) and 574 cases of high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma (HG-IDC). We studied the histologic and immunohistochemical features, clinical presentation and surgical treatment.

Results: P-ILC is diagnosed at the same age and tumor diameter as those of the other two histologic types. It is associated more frequently with multiple lymph node metastases and high proliferative index, and HER2/neu is amplified in 10% of cases. In spite of sharing some histologic characteristics with C-ILC (same growth pattern, loss of E-cadherin expression, same genetic pathway), its clinical and pathologic features define an autonomous entity. Its surgical treatment is similar to those of C-ILC and HG-IDC.

Conclusion: This is the first review comparing these three pathologic entities. Our findings may be useful in understanding this variety of invasive lobular carcinoma, and further studies are certainly needed in this field.