Division
East Florida
Hospital
HCA Florida Westside Hospital
Specialty
Pathology
Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
2025
Keywords
osteoclast like giant cells, OGS, breast cancer
Disciplines
Diagnosis | Neoplasms | Pathology
Abstract
Introduction: Osteoclast like giant cells (OGCs) can be found in various tissues such as the gallbladder, liver, pancreas, and thyroid. In breast cancer, the presence of OGCs is a rare finding. Currently knowledge of such cases is limited, with approximately 200 reported cases of osteoclast like giant cells (OGCs) among all breast carcinomas. Among the breast cancers that are classified as rare, those with OGCs make up only 0.5-1.2% of cases.
Case Description: An 80+ year-old female presented with a palpable left breast lesion initially suspected by mammography as a benign lesion. She eventually underwent breast core biopsy revealing hormone positive, Her2 negative invasive ductal carcinoma. A left breast mastectomy and sentinel lymph node (SLN) resection were performed.
Results: Pathology revealed a well circumscribed 3.8 cm rubbery hemorrhagic mass with cribriform morphology, numerous osteoclast-like multinucleated giant cells OGCs and hemosiderin-pigmented macrophages. No tumor was present in the SLN. A diagnosis of Invasive Carcinoma with OGCs Grade 1 was rendered.
Discussion: Osteoclast like giant cells are multinucleated giant cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm that are similar to osteoclasts in both morphology and function. Breast cancers with OGCs are typically invasive breast carcinoma of no special type. In contrast to previous reports where the average age of occurrence is around 45-46 years old, our case is an 80+ year old female. Approximately 50% of women with breast cancer with OGCs received a diagnosis of benign lesion on as it occurred in our case.
Conclusion: We present a case of a rare histologic variant of invasive breast cancer with osteoclast like giant cells. With relatively few cases published, we provide an additional case with morphologic and histologic descriptions of this unique type of breast cancer.
Original Publisher
HCA Healthcare Graduate Medical Education
Recommended Citation
Bender, Robert; Bowman, Makenna; Lee, Matthew; and Ferra, Susana, "Carcinoma with Osteoclast-like Giant Cells: A Rare Histologic Variant of Breast Cancer" (2025). East Florida Division GME Research Day 2025. 1.
https://scholarlycommons.hcahealthcare.com/eastflorida2025/1