| Medullary Carcinoma
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Etiology
• Unknown
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Pathogenesis
• Unknown; see general discussion of infiltrating duct carcinoma,
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Epidemiology
• Represents <5% of all breast carcinomas
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General Gross Description
• Tan, fleshy mass without gritty hard texture of typical invasive duct carcinoma
• May show areas of hemorrhage and necrosis
• Well circumscribed
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General Microscopic Description
• Well circumscribed; if not, then should not be classified as medullary carcinoma
• Cells are very large with scant cytoplasm, prominent nucleoli, and large nuclei
• Cells arranged in sheets with a dense lymphoctyic response
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Clinical Correlation
• Much better prognosis than usual duct carcinoma even with node metastases
• 70% overall 10 year survival
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References
• Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th edition. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994, pp. 1104-5.
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| Medullary Carcinoma
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| Synopsis by: Melinda Sanders M.D. (T04000M85103)[307]
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