Primary acinic cell carcinoma of the breast: A case report with a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of a rare breast cancer subtype

Acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) of the breast is extremely rare subtype of triple-negative breast carcinoma and demonstrates extensive morphologic overlap with acinic cell carcinoma of the salivary gland. Herein, we report a case of acinic cell carcinoma of the breast in a 41-year old female presenting with a palpable breast mass along with significant morphological and immunohistochemical findings. Histologically, ACC showed a diffuse glandular infiltrative pattern, with small acinar or glandular structures mixed with solid nests. Both glandular and solid tumor cell populations were strongly positive for lysozyme. The immunohistochemical profile of the tumor was also similar to that of salivary gland acinic cell carcinoma. She received postoperative chemoradiation therapy and has been doing well. As studies on large series are lacking, further studies are needed to elucidate the biological characteristics of acinic cell carcinoma of the breast. In this study, we perform a detailed morphologic and immunohistochemical description of cases of this rare entity and undertake a comprehensive review of all reported cases of breast acinic cell carcinoma in the English language literature to date.