title: Clinical picture of infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast: an analysis of 96 patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to present the clinical picture of infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast.
  
  
  METHODS
  A detailed analysis was performed for the group of 96 ILC patients subject to initial surgical treatment in the Krakow Branch of Centre of Oncology between 1983 and 1996. The investigated group was selected out of 2,347 breast cancer patients treated during that period, based on re-examination of histologic specimens of the initial patient group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following distinctive demographic and clinical features of ILC were found: average age of patients: 59 years (37 - 83); average duration of pathological symptoms: five months; most frequent site of primary tumor: upper outer quadrant (54.2%); primary tumor Stage: I/II0 (64.6%), III0A (35.4%); tumor size in breast: up to five cm (69.8%), larger than five cm (30.2%); no axillary lymph nodes involvement in 51% of patients; multifocality of lesions in 10% of patients; contralateral disease occurrence in eight percent of patients; atypical pattern of distant metastases, e.g. gastrointestinal system, gynaecologic organs, and cerebral meninges.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on this analysis as well as on literature reports, it was found that the fundamental differences between ILC and infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) included demographic and clinical features as patient age, primary tumor size at diagnosis, incidence of multifocality and contralateral disease, sites of distant metastases, and histopathological status of axillary lymph nodes.
authors: Surgery Department, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Institute, Krakow Branch, Krakow, Poland. pskotnicki@vp.pl
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Skotnicki
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Blecharz
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Jakubowicz
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Reinfuss
authors: Ł
authors: Ł
authors: Strzepek
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis