Metaplastic Carcinoma Masquerading as Tuberculous Mastitis – An Interesting Case Report

Abstract

Metaplastic carcinoma is a diverse subgroup of invasive breast cancer (IBC) characterised by differentiation of the neoplastic epithelium into squamous cells and/or mesenchymal-looking components, such as but not limited to spindle, chondroid and osseous cells. [1] The clinical characteristics are comparable to those of ER-negative IBC of no special type (NST), although they are more likely to present at an advanced stage. The aetiology is complicated and doesn't seem to be different from IBC-NST (especially the triple-negative subtype). [2] They account for 0.2-1 % of all IBCs. This variation in prevalence stems from the different definitions of metaplastic carcinoma used by different authors.