Pathological Features and Prognosis of Lobular Carcinoma in Egyptian Breast Cancer Patients

Aim: To illustrate the differences between invasive lobular and ductal carcinomas (ILCs and IDCs) in terms of baseline demographics, pathologic features and recurrence in Egyptian breast cancer patients. Patients & methods: Retrospective analysis of breast cancer patients diagnosed and treated between 2000 and 2008 was performed. Results: 176 (8.5%) and 1758 (85%) cases were diagnosed with ILC and IDC, respectively. Compared with IDC, ILC was less observed in patients under 35 years of age (3.4 vs 9.3%; p = 0.009), and was associated with more bilaterality (p = 0.001), advanced tumor stage (p = 0.027) and nodal involvement (p = 0.004). On the other hand, IDC was significantly associated with more luminal B-like phenotype (16.9 vs 8.1%; p < 0.001) and more HER2-enriched disease (11.5 vs 2.7%; p < 0.001). At a median follow-up time of 64 months, ILC histology was independently associated with better disease-free survival (hazard ratio: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.36-0.93; p = 0.023). Bone and peritoneal relapses were more common in ILC, while lung relapses were more common in IDC. Conclusion: ILC has distinct biologic and prognostic features that may warrant different therapeutic approaches.