Breast Cancer - Moose and Doc

A breast cancer explanations website

 

May 6, 2019 By Dr. Halls

All about Spindle cell Lipoma of the breast

A spindle cell lipoma is a rare variant of a benign breast lipoma.

So, the characteristics of a spindle cell lipoma of the breast include a mixture of:-

  • mature fat cells
  • collagen-forming spindle cells
  • varying degrees of myxoid change (myxoid means containing mucus)

These lesions were first described in 1975 and are most common in the subcutaneous tissue of the upper back and shoulders of males, but have been known to occur in the female or male breast as well.

This page is getting somewhat old, but don’t get me wrong, it is still very useful and I would still use it. However, I have a newer page with more up-to-date information on benign breast conditions, including Spindle Cell Lipoma of the Breast.

Spindle cell lipomas tend to develop in individuals over the age of 40, with an average age of around the mid-’50s. 

The rate at which these lipomas develop in the breast of both men and women is approximately equal.  However, overall spindle cell lipomas are much more common in men.

A bit more about the Spindle Cell Breast Lipoma

The composition of all spindle cell breast lipomas is some combination of the following cells:-

benign spindle cell lipoma breast
  • bland spindle cells
  • mature adipocytes
  • collagen bundles.

Specialists also sometimes call this type of lipoma ‘benign stromal spindle cell tumor with a predominant adipocytic component’.

Most spindle cell breast lipomas are benign, but not all of them. However, within the benign group, their appearance may at times mimic malignant breast cancer, so they require a thorough, conservative approach to diagnosis and management.

Potentially malignant features of spindle cell breast lipoma

One common feature of all these types of lipomas is the presence of spindle cells without epithelial cells.

Benign tumors tend to have a very bland appearance. There is a varied mixture of spindle and oval cells with bland nuclei, inconspicuous nucleoli, and a very low rate of cell mitosis. A benign spindle cell lipoma will also not show signs of necrosis.

A malignant spindle cell breast lipoma (which really means it is something else and not a spindle cell lipoma) may show a range of atypical features. These features include:-

spindle-cell-breast-lipoma-cells
  • discohesive cells with mitotic activity 
  • cell necrosis in the background
  • nuclear atypica
  • abnormal mitosis
  • a myxoid stromal background is also a bit more worrisome for malignancy.

‘Myxoid’ substances show an overproduction of mucopolysaccharide substances and are characterized by a loose pale-to-light staining profile.  Myxoid substances appear as a thin, amorphous and semitransparent substance. Specifically, myxoid background substances contain glycosaminoglycans, both sulphated (chondroitin sulphate, keratan sulphate) and non sulphated (hyaluronic acid).

Some features are similar to malignant breast myoepithelioma

Potentially malignant breast tumors which have similar features include:-

  • spindle cell breast carcinoma
  • malignant myoepithelioma of the breast
  • leiomyosarcoma of the breast.

Mammogram and ultrasound evaluation

These lipomas usually appear on a mammogram as a well-circumscribed mass. On ultrasound, they will usually be seen as a homogeneously hyperechoic mass or nodule, primarily solid and with a low echogenicity shell.

Sonogram features can share some characteristics with hamartoma and other benign breast tumors, so fine needle biopsy is usually necessary for further investigation, at the very least.

Typical histological features

So, a typical lipoma with spindle cells will contain somewhat uniform spindle cells together with thick collagen bundles and mature adipocytes. Sometimes they can appear ‘entrapped’ within normal breast ducts, lobules, blood vessels, and nerves.  So, this can be confusing to medics as it gives the false appearance of an aggressively infiltrating tumor.

These tumors will typically be immunoreactive to CD34 and vimentin. However, they will be non-reactive for:-

  • cytokeratin
  • S100
  • desmin
  • smooth muscle actin
  • Factor VIII

So this can help solidify the diagnosis.

Spindle cell breast lipomas can grow quite large

Most spindle cell breast lipomas are between 3 cm and 5 cm in diameter, but they can grow to be very large (up to 14 cm). They are composed of a relatively equal ratio of fat and spindle cells, but actually either component may predominate.

Treatment and follow-up

Given the fact that these tumors resemble quite a large number of both benign tumors (such as myofibroblastoma of the breast and breast leiomyoma) and malignant breast tumors, (such as leiomyosarcoma) it is very unlikely that a diagnosis will be possible on the basis of clinical exam and mammography alone.

A fine needle biopsy is usually undertaken to get a sense of whether or not there are any of the atypical or myxoid features described above. If these features are present, even to a very small degree, a wide excisional biopsy will almost certainly be undertaken.

Benign spindle cell breast lipomas will probably be managed with routine follow-up evaluations.   However, treatment for those with a malignant or potentially malignant profile will most likely be complete surgical removal.

Further Reading

  • Breast Lipoma: They are Common and Harmless
  • Spindle Cell Carcinoma of the Breast
  • Benign Fibroadenoma of the Breast
  • Myofibroblastoma of the breast
  • Index of ALL our Articles on Benign Breast Conditions
  • Index of ALL our Articles on Types of Breast Cancer

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References

  • Smith, DN., Denison, CM., Lester, SC. Spindle Cell Lipomas of the Breast, A case report. Acta Radiologica 1996, Vol. 37, No. 6, Pages 893-895
  • Miettien MM, Mandhal M: Spindle cell lipomas, pleomorphic lipoma. In Tumours of soft tissue and bone. Edited by: Fletcher CDM. WHO classification of tumors. IARC Press; 2002.
  • Mulvany NJ, Silvester AC, Collins JP: Spindle cell lipomas of the breast. Pathology 1999, 31:288-291.
  • Jaffar R, Zaheer S, Vasenwala SM, Beg S. Spindle cell lipoma breast. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 2008;51:234-6
  • Enzinger FM, Harvey DA Spindle cell lipoma. Cancer 1975;36:1852-9.
  • Lew WY. Spindle cell lipoma of the breast: A case report and literature review. Diagn Cytopathol 1993;9:434-7.
  • Toker C, Tang CK, Whitely JF. Benign spindle cell breast tumours. Cancer 1981;48:L1615-22.
  • Jaffar R, Zaheer S, Vasenwala SM, Beg S., Spindle cell lipoma breast.Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2008 Apr-Jun;51(2):234-6.
  • Comunoglu, N., Comunoglu, C., Ekici, AID., Ozkan, F., Dervisoglu,S. Spindle Cell Lipoma, Pol J Pathol 2007, 58, 1, 7–11
  • El All, HSA., Breast spindle cell tumours: about eight cases. Diagn Pathol (2006) 1: 13.
  • Rubin BP, Fletcher CDM. Myxoid leiomyosarcoma of soft tissue. An underrecognized variant. Mod Pathol 1999, 12
  • Nucci MR, Granter SR, Fletcher CDM. Cellular angiofibroma: a benign neolasm distinct from angiomyofibroblastoma and spindle cell lipoma. Am J Surg Pathol 1997, 21, 636-44

About Steven Halls

Dr Halls has 25 years experience as a radiologist. He worked for 13 years at Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, a world-class cancer treatment facility. He has had high-volume experience with cancer, interventional procedures, clinical trials and his own phase 1 and 2 research in MRI and breast cancer staging.

 

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