Atypical cystic hypersecretory lesions of the breast commonly harbour TP53 alterations

Cystic hypersecretory lesions are rare and include atypical cystic hypersecretory hyperplasia (A-CHH) and cystic hypersecretory carcinoma in situ (CHC-IS). Despite detailed morphological descriptions, little is known about the genetic landscape of these lesions.

We identified four A-CHH and three CHC-IS from 2010 to 2022. Patients ranged from 39 to 65 (median 49) years. All lesions showed characteristic cystically dilated ducts with colloid-like secretions lined by enlarged cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and at least moderate cytological atypia. CHC-IS was remarkable for a greater degree of intraductal proliferation, typically with a micropapillary pattern. Four patients had concurrent ipsilateral invasive carcinoma. Next-generation sequencing (104 cancer-associated genes) was successful in four, showing variants in TP53 (3), KEAP1 (1) and MDM2 (1). p53 immunohistochemistry was concordant with molecular results with mutant-pattern staining in three TP53-mutants and wild-type in one. In three cases where sequencing failed, one showed mutant p53 staining, one was wild-type and one had no remaining lesion. The combined molecular and immunohistochemical results demonstrated p53 alterations in one A-CHH and three CHC-IS.

Based on this limited cohort, atypical cystic hypersecretory lesions appear to commonly harbour TP53 alterations. To our knowledge, this is the first study to characterise molecular alterations in this rare subset of breast lesions.