We report a case of apocrine ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast, for which we could foresee an extensive intraductal spread by dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast.
A 47-year-old woman diagnosed as having apocrine ductal carcinoma in situ of the left breast after excisional biopsy for a 1-cm breast tumor at another hospital was referred to the hospital. On dynamic MRI of the left breast an extensive intraductal spread was suspected, though there were no specific mammographical and ultrasonographical findings. After nipple preserving total glandectomy, the definite histological diagnosis was obtained as apocrine ductal carcinoma in situ with quite extensive intraductal spread in accordance with the enhanced lesions in MRI. So far 16 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ with apocrine metaplasia, including this case, have been reported in the Japanese literature, but the disease has not been defined in the General Rules for Clinical and Pathological Recording of Breast Cancer, the Japanese Breast Cancer Society. Since there is no report describing dynamic MRI findings in diagnosing this disease, this case is supposed to be valuable.