Papillary carcinoma of the breast in a male patient with a treated prostatic carcinoma diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy: a case report and review of the literature

Papillary carcinoma of the male breast is very rare. In this case report, we describe the cytologic, histologic, immunohistochemical, and radiological findings of a papillary carcinoma of male breast. A 67-yr-old man, who had a previous history of prostatic adenocarcinoma, presented with a retroareolar painless mass. There was no known history of breast cancer in his family. A fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was performed. Cytological examination revealed a cellular aspirate with three-dimensional papillary clusters. A diagnosis of papillary lesion favoring papillary carcinoma was rendered. Immunohistochemical staining of the cell-block of the FNAB revealed the presence of mammaglobin, and the absence of prostatic specific antigen. The patient underwent lumpectomy, which showed a moderately differentiated infiltrating papillary carcinoma with adjacent areas of ductal carcinoma in situ. FNAB is a useful technique in identifying male breast carcinoma. In conjunction with ancillary studies, this procedure can effectively differentiate between a primary versus metastatic lesion.