Published online Sep 26, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.126689
Revised: September 26, 2026
Accepted: October 10, 2026
Published online: September 26, 2026
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Secretory carcinoma is a rare, differentiated, distinct histologic type of invasive breast carcinoma. It is extremely rare, accounting for less than 0.02% of all breast cancer cases. Although it is the most common primary breast cancer in children, it is most often diagnosed in adults. To date, at least 642 cases of secretory carcinoma of the breast have been reported in the literature for the last 15 years.
A 21-year-old female, sought medical help at the Department of Oncology and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery of the Breast and Skin of the PA Herzen Moscow Oncology Research Institute with complaints of a mass in the right mammary gland. Secretory carcinoma of the mammary gland is a malignant tumor that was first described in children in 1966 by McDivitt RW and Stewart FW and named “juvenile breast carcinoma” because it was predominantly seen in children and associated with genetic mutations. Although secretory cancer is classified as a type of basal-like triple-negative cancer, it differs significantly from it in terms of pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and treatment. Overall, it usually has a good prognosis with overall survival 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years after initial treatment of 95.79%, 93.16%, and 93.16%.
We present a case report and review of the literature of secretory carcinoma of the breast with low estrogen and low progesterone immunophenotype.
Core Tip: Secretory carcinoma is a rare, differentiated, distinct histologic type of invasive breast carcinoma. It is extremely rare, accounting for less than 0.02% of all breast cancer cases. Although it is the most common primary breast cancer in children, it is most often diagnosed in adults.