Table 1.
Summary of clinical and pathological information on the 35 patients with metaplastic carcinoma of the breast included in this study
| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| No. of patients | 35 |
| Median age | 54 |
| Pathologic stage, n (%) | |
| I/II | 22 (63%) |
| III/IV | 8 (23%) |
| Unknown | 5 (14%) |
| Median tumor size, cm, (range) | 2.5 (0.5–10.5) |
| Estrogen Receptor, n (%) | |
| Negative | 30 (86%) |
| Positive | 1 (3%)* |
| Unknown | 4 (11%) |
| Progesterone Receptor n (%) | |
| Negative | 31 (89%) |
| Positive | 0 (0%) |
| Unknown | 4 (11%) |
| HER2/neu overexpression, n (%) | |
| Negative | 25 (71%) |
| Positive | 0 (0%) |
| Unknown | 10 (29%) |
| Lymph node metastasis, n(%) and subtype | |
| Negative | 20 (57%) |
| Positive | 10 (29%), 9 squamous, 1 chondroid |
| Unknown | 5 (14%) |
| Site of distant metastasis, n and subtype | |
| Lung and pleura | 4 – 2 squamous, 2 spindled |
| Vertebra | 1 - Squamous |
| CNS | 1 - Squamous |
| Soft tissue (neck) | 1 - Squamous |
| Predominant metaplastic component, n(%) | |
| Squamous | 17 (49%) |
| Spindle | 8 (23%) |
| Mesenchymal | 10 (28%) |
| Osseous | 1 (3%) |
| Chondroid | 9 (26%) |
| Histologic grade, n (%) | |
| 1 | 0 (0) |
| 2 | 6 (17) |
| 3 | 26 (74) |
| Unknown | 3 (9) |
*
ER positive cells were approximately 5% tumor cells