Mucinous breast carcinoma: a large contemporary series

Background Mucinous breast cancer is typically associated with a favorable prognosis. This study aimed to assess recent trends and prognostic features in the treatment of mucinous breast carcinoma. Methods A retrospective review of our database of patients who presented with mucinous breast cancer was performed. We evaluated patient and tumor characteristics and examined the relationships between these factors and risk for locoregional recurrence. Results One hundred eleven patients with mucinous breast cancer were identified. Seventy-one (64%) underwent lumpectomy with radiotherapy. Fourteen (13%) had lymph node metastasis, and node positivity was associated with larger tumor size; node-positive patients had a mean tumor size of 2.7 cm compared with 1.5 cm for node-negative patients (P = .0003). No patients with tumor size <1 cm had lymph node metastasis. Five patients (5%) had local and/or distant recurrence. Conclusions Mucinous breast cancer is associated with a low recurrence rate as well as a low incidence of lymph node metastasis. In patients with small (<1 cm) tumors, consideration for deferring nodal evaluation may be made.