Significance of adenosquamous proliferation in breast lesions

Abstract

Adenosquamous proliferation (ASP), characterised by ductal structures with a dual glandular and squamous phenotype within desmoplastic stroma, is essentially a hallmark of various sclerosing lesions of the breast (SL) and breast lesions with sclerosis (BLWS), not including sclerosing adenosis. In radial scar/complex sclerosing lesion (RS/CSL), clonality has been previously demonstrated in microdissected ASP. SL/BLWS encompass a diverse range of pathological entities that historically have an equally diverse list of names, often for histologically alike or identical lesions at different anatomical locations. In common they are comprised of one or more components of fibrocystic or proliferative breast disease and papillomata, which become distorted and even obliterated by a sclerosing process that appears to be associated with and/or secondary to ASP, which in an individual lesion may be inconspicuous at the time of biopsy. The histological overlap of various SL/BLWS with RS/CSL, in which a nidus containing ASP is pathognomonic of early lesions, also supports a common element of ASP across various SL/BLWS. SL/BLWS show an interesting association with low-grade metaplastic carcinoma, particularly low-grade adenosquamous carcinoma (LGASC) with which, they appear to form a histological and possible biological spectrum because ASP and LGASC share similar histological and immunophenotypical characteristics. The presentation of ASP in various SL/BLWS will be discussed.