In Situ Malignant Transformation and Progenitor-Mediated Cell Budding: Two Different Pathways for Breast Ductal and Lobular Tumor Invasion

Yan-gao Man^1*✉, Mina Izadjoo^1*, Guohong Song², Alexander Stojadinovic³

1. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and American Registry of Pathology, Washington, DC, USA
2. Department of Medical Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, China
3. Surgical Oncology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC, USA
*Drs. Man and Izadjoo's new affiliation: Diagnostic and Translational Research Center, Henry Jackson Foundation, 401 Professional Drive, Gaithersburg, 20879.

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Citation:
Man Yg, Izadjoo M, Song G, Stojadinovic A. In Situ Malignant Transformation and Progenitor-Mediated Cell Budding: Two Different Pathways for Breast Ductal and Lobular Tumor Invasion. J Cancer 2011; 2:401-412. doi:10.7150/jca.2.401. Available from http://www.jcancer.org/v02p0401.htm

Abstract

The human breast lobular and ductal structures and the derived tumors from these structures differ substantial in their morphology, microenvironment, biological presentation, functions, and clinical prognosis. Based on these differences, we have proposed that pre-invasive lobular tumors may progress to invasive lesions through “in situ malignant transformation”, in which the entire myoepithelial cell layer within a given lobule or lobular clusters undergoes extensive degeneration and disruptions, which allows the entire epithelial cell population associated with these myoepithelial cell layers directly invade the stroma or vascular structures. In contrast, pre-invasive ductal tumors may invade the stroma or vascular structures through “progenitor-mediated cell budding”, in which focal myoepithelial cell degeneration-induced aberrant leukocyte infiltration causes focal disruptions in the tumor capsules, which selectively favor monoclonal proliferation of the overlying tumor stem cells or a biologically more aggressive cell clone. Our current study attempted to provide more direct morphological and immunohistochemical data that are consistent with our hypotheses.

Keywords: Breast cancer, Tumor invasion, Tumor metastasis, Malignant transformation, Tumor cell budding, Myoepithelial cells, Tumor microenvironment, Tumor stem cells, lymphocytes