Differential diagnosis between sclerosing adenosis and tubular carcinoma of the breast under transmission and scanning electron microscope

The tubular carcinoma of the breast is an uncommon histological subtype of invasive breast cancer, which is generally associated with an excellent prognosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that this well differentiated variant is linked with a low incidence of lymph node involvement, a low rate of local recurrence and a high overall survival rate when compared to standard invasive ductal carcinoma. Due to its favorable prognosis, some studies have proposed that a diagnosis of tubular carcinoma might warrant less aggressive surgical or adjuvant treatment. Histologically, tubular carcinoma may mimic sclerosing adenoma or bluntduct adenosis. Its ductal nature appears well confirmed by the few ultrastructural studies of this mammary cancer. Tubular carcinoma should also be distinguished from microglandular adenosis, an uncommon form of sclerosing adenosis. The aim of this study is to prove that the ultrastructure results can give the correct diagnosis between tubular carcinoma and sclerosing adenosis.