Polish Journal of Pathology

Abstract

4/2025 vol. 76
Case report

Dedifferentiation in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast – an unexpected intraoperative finding and a diagnostic challenge

  1. Department of Pathology, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
  2. Department of Pathology, University of Health Sciences, Bagcılar Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
  3. Department of Pathology, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Pol J Pathol 2025; 76 (4): 343-347
Online publish date: 2026/02/02
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Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the breast with high-grade transformation (dedifferentiation) is an extremely rare entity in the literature. Due to its potential to cause significant diagnostic challenges, recognition of this variant is clinically important. We report the case of a 58-year-old woman presenting with a 7  6 cm retroareolar breast mass. Core biopsy revealed features consistent with classic ACC; however, intraoperative frozen section of a sentinel lymph node demonstrated poorly differentiated carcinoma, showing no resemblance to the initial biopsy. This rare case is presented to contribute to the literature and raise awareness of this unusual phenomenon in breast tumors.
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