# Mucinous Micropapillary Carcinoma of Breast in a Developing World Setting: Case Series With Clinicopathological Insights and Survival Analysis From a Tertiary Care Hospital

**Authors:** Saba Anjum, Mehwish Mooghal, Naila Kayani, Abida Sattar, Lubna Vohra, Sana Zeeshan, Romana Idress

PMC · DOI: 10.1155/crip/5573148 · Case Reports in Pathology · 2026-03-08

## TL;DR

This study examines a rare breast cancer subtype in a developing country, finding it occurs in younger patients with advanced disease but shows relatively good survival outcomes.

## Contribution

The paper provides clinicopathological insights and survival data for mucinous micropapillary carcinoma in a developing world context.

## Key findings

- MMPC presented at a younger age with larger tumors and advanced stages.
- Most tumors were ER/PR positive, but survival outcomes were relatively favorable.
- Recurrence was low, with 77.78% recurrence-free survival at 3.5 years.

## Abstract

Mucinous micropapillary carcinoma breast (MMPC) is one of the rarest subtypes of breast cancer (BC) with clinicopathologic features correlated with poor prognosis. We are aimed at identifying MMPC cases and correlate them with histopathological features, overall survival (OS), and recurrence‐free survival (RFS).

We retrospectively identified cases of MMPC from our institutional repository from 2017 to 2022. Data were collected regarding age, stage of BC at the time of diagnosis, tumor size, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), extranodal extension (ENE), lymph node (LN) metastasis, tumor biology, recurrence, and OS. Quantitative variables are calculated as median with range (IQR), whereas qualitative variables are presented in percentages.

Nine MMPC cases were reported in the last 6 years, with a median age at diagnosis of 49 years. At diagnosis, 66.67% (6/9) were Stage III followed by Stage II; the average tumor size was 4.5 cm and the majority of tumors were Grade II (77.78%) followed by Grade III. LVI was seen in 66.67%, ENE in 33.33%, and LN metastases in 66.67%. Estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) was positive in 77.78%. The OS was 7/9 (77.78%) at the median follow‐up of 3.5 years; recurrence was reported in two patients with an RFS of 77.78% (7/9).

Our results demonstrate that MMPC is a rare entity that presented at a younger age with more advanced disease. Patients presented with larger tumor size, intermediate‐ to high‐grade tumor morphology, LVI, ENE, and LN metastasis. These tumors also overexpressed ER and PR. Despite this, clinical outcomes in our cohort were relatively favorable, which is also reflected in OS (77.78%) and RFS (77.78%) at a median follow‐up of 3.5 years.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** breast cancer (MONDO:0004989)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) [NCBI Gene 1956] {aka ERBB, ERBB1, ERRP, HER1, NISBD2, NNCIS}, MUC1 (mucin 1, cell surface associated) [NCBI Gene 4582] {aka ADMCKD, ADMCKD1, ADTKD2, CA 15-3, CD227, Ca15-3}, PIK3CA (phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha) [NCBI Gene 5290] {aka CCM4, CLAPO, CLOVE, CWS5, HMH, MCAP}, ESR1 (estrogen receptor 1) [NCBI Gene 2099] {aka ER, ESR, ESRA, ESTRR, Era, NR3A1}, SF3B1 (splicing factor 3b subunit 1) [NCBI Gene 23451] {aka Hsh155, MDS, PRP10, PRPF10, SAP155, SF3b155}, MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase) [NCBI Gene 2475] {aka FRAP, FRAP1, FRAP2, RAFT1, RAPT1, SKS}, ERBB2 (erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2) [NCBI Gene 2064] {aka CD340, HER-2, HER-2/neu, HER2, MLN 19, MLN-19}, TP53 (tumor protein p53) [NCBI Gene 7157] {aka BCC7, BMFS5, LFS1, P53, TRP53}, mucin [NCBI Gene 100508689], EREG (epiregulin) [NCBI Gene 2069] {aka EPR, ER, Ep}, GATA3 (GATA binding protein 3) [NCBI Gene 2625] {aka HDR, HDRS}, PGR (progesterone receptor) [NCBI Gene 5241] {aka NR3C3, PR}
- **Diseases:** LN metastases (MESH:D008207), BC (MESH:D001943), IMPC (MESH:D009361), metastasis (MESH:D009362), MC (MESH:D002288), Stage III disease (MESH:D007676), III disease (MESH:D015840), disease (MESH:D004194), node (MESH:D012804), ENE (MESH:D000079822), Cancer (MESH:D009369)
- **Chemicals:** H &amp; E (MESH:D006371)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

9 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12968074/full.md

## References

16 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12968074/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12968074