Imaging features of metaplastic carcinoma with chondroid differentiation of the breast

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the imaging features--including the mammographic, sonographic, MRI, and bone scintigraphic findings--in 12 patients with metaplastic carcinoma with chondroid differentiation of the breast and to correlate the imaging findings with the pathologic features. CONCLUSION: Metaplastic carcinoma with chondroid differentiation of the breast manifests as a palpable mass and should be included in the differential diagnosis of a large indistinct highdensity mass with amorphous or coarse calcifications on mammography and a relatively circumscribed complex echoic mass with posterior enhancement on sonography. A relatively circumscribed mass with a nonenhancing T2 intermediate- to high-signal-intensity internal component on MRI and an area of intense uptake of 99mTc methylene diphosphonate (MDP) on bone scintigraphy might be useful in suggesting the diagnosis of metaplastic carcinoma with chondroid differentiation.     

MRI of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of our study was to describe the MRI findings of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast and to compare those findings with underlying histopathologic features. CONCLUSION: Metaplastic carcinoma of the breast shows high signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI. This finding is related to the necrotic component of the tumor and may be useful for preoperative diagnosis of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast, although it must be differentiated from mucinous carcinoma and, less frequently, necrotic infiltrating ductal carcinoma.     

Radiology-Pathology conference: papillary carcinoma of the breast

Papillary carcinoma of the breast is a rare breast carcinoma. It can be classified into invasive and noninvasive types. It can also be classified into intracystic and intraductal papillary carcinoma. Different radiological features are found to be associated with different histological types. Pitfalls are found to be associated with fine needle aspiration and core biopsy in the evaluation of papillary lesions. It is therefore important for radiologists to diagnose papillary carcinoma for proper management of the patients.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast: sonographic and pathologic correlation

Metaplastic carcinoma of the breast is a rare disease. We describe the MRI findings with the correlative sonographic and pathologic features of two cases. On MRI, T2-weighted images demonstrate a relatively well-defined mass with high signal intensity cystic components. Dynamic enhancement subtraction images showed an early enhancing and delayed washout peripheral rim and non-enhancing internal components. A microlobulated, isoechogenic mass with cystic components was seen sonographically, and was histopathology related to necrosis and cystic degeneration. Although these features are not unique, metaplastic carcinoma should be included in the differential diagnosis for breast masses.     

Solid papillary breast carcinoma with mucinous differentiation

A case is reported of a solid variant of infiltrating papillary carcinoma of the breast with mucinous differentiation in a 74-year-old woman. Macroscopically, the tumor was solid and lobular, 4.5 cm in diameter. Light microscopy showed solid papillary invasive carcinoma mixed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified. Abundant intracellular and extracellular acid mucin produced by the solid papillary tumor cells was proven histochemically by: PAS, PAS-D, mucicarmine and alcian blue. Immunohistochemically, the papillary carcinoma cells were strongly reactive to estrogen receptors, and weakly to moderately reactive to smooth muscle actin. We suggest that papillary carcinoma of the breast could have potentially high degree of aggressiveness, and that differential diagnosis of these rare tumors might be a histopathological problem.     

Radiology pathology conference of Brooke Army Medical Center: trichoblastoma of breast

The differential diagnosis of a superficial breast lesion detected on mammography typically includes seborrheic keratosis, dermal nevus, epidermal inclusion cyst, and basal cell carcinoma with subcutaneous invasion [Kopans DB. Breast Imaging. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007; pp. 481-2]. The case presented is of a trichoblastoma of the superficial breast. Trichoblastoma is a benign skin neoplasm that is rarely found in the breast. It has not previously been described in the radiologic literature. This case describes and correlates the findings of trichoblastoma of the breast on mammography, sonography, and histology.     

Variables associated with attrition from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Medical School

Attrition among medical students is a concern for the institution, the individual, and the profession. Disenrollment has an impact on the institution, in terms of academic reputation and resources expended, and the individual, in terms of self-esteem, personal finances, and opportunity costs. This study summarizes the results of an epidemiologic study of student attrition conducted at the only federal medical school in the United States--the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland--and describes the association between demographic and selected quantitative variables for those students who graduated or remained enrolled and those who disenrolled. Both sex (female) and a decelerated curriculum were predictive of attrition in this medical student population. The records of the students who left Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences without graduating were examined to ascertain the presence of noncognitive issues surrounding disenrollment; over one-half of the students who disenrolled left voluntarily and for nonacademic reasons.