Question 107

Question:

A 70 year-old woman with a family history of breast cancer has a lumpectomy after a breast mass is identified during screening mammography. If pathological, histological, and cytogenetic studies were performed, which of the following would be most suggestive of adenocarcinoma?

Correct Answer: A.  Desmoplastic surrounding tissues

Adenocarcinoma is commonly associated with desmoplasia, a tumor-induced proliferation of non-neoplastic fibrous connective tissue which surrounds the tumor. It is seen most commonly in adenocarcinoma of the breast, pancreas, and prostate.
Well-differentiated cells (E) and encapsulation of the tumor (B) would be more indicative of benign neoplasms than adenocarcinoma, which is malignant. Polyclonality (C) is incorrect because neoplasms, both benign and malignant, are monoclonal. A predomination of interphase cells (D) would indicate controlled cell division, while adenocarcinomas undergo rapid cell division (and thus have a high mitotic index).