Apocrine features

FormerMember
FormerMember
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Anyone else heard of this ? It was a new one on me.

my diagnosis is invasive carcinoma with apocrine features, hormone negative, HER2 positive.  The consultant hasn’t been keen to talk about it. ‘You don’t need too much information’ they say, which makes me worry!  I have tried to find out online but not found much.  I think it probably isn’t a good thing, but the positive is that although there are 2 lumps and 1 already measures nearly 6cm they don’t think it has spread. Lymph nodes on ultrasound were clear.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi

    So it only has Apocrine features which basically means some cells look a little different.

    Most of the info 'out there' is too full of med speak to understand unless you have an 'ology'  Hugging  but I found this info that is written in plain English - bear in mind this is referring to full blown Apocrine not what you have been found to have Thumbsup tone2

    "Apocrine breast cancer is a rare type of invasive ductal breast cancer.  Like other types of invasive ductal cancer, apocrine breast cancer begins in the milk duct of the breast before spreading to the tissues around the duct.  The cells that make up an apocrine tumor are different than those of typical ductal cancers.

    When the cells of an apocrine tumor are examined under the microscope, they look like cells normally found in the sweat glands in the underarm and groin region.  It is thought that the normal ductal breast cells have undergone a change in form, called metaplasia, to become more like apocrine cells, though it is not known exactly how or why this occurs. 

    Apocrine tumors are often “triple negative”, meaning that the cells do not express the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or HER2 receptor.  Apocrine tumor cells are almost always positive for an additional receptor called the androgen receptor.  Apocrine tumors, even when triple negative, are less likely to involve the lymph nodes, are more responsive to treatment, and may have a better prognosis than more common types of invasive ductal cancer."

    Hope this is of some help, G n' J

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Thanks for this. It doesn’t sound too bad at all, and the last sentence is very positive!

    just waiting waiting waiting now to get on with mastectomy.

  • Hi

    Your message is a year old, so I hope you’ve had a good outcome and all is well.   I’ve been diagnosed with an 8mm invasive apocrine carcinoma and had surgery 10 days ago to remove it.  I can’t find any info about it at all, and my surgeon said it did increase my risk.  He told me it’s rare - 1% of women with BC get it  and usually passed through people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, which I don’t have, to my knowledge! 

  • I’ve been recently been diagnosed with 7cm ADCIS high grade ER negative 

    and also having a SMX soon 

    and I hadn’t herd of anyone with this Aprocrine

    how are you now xxxx