Breast and endocrine surgery: mucinous breast carcinoma: practice question

A General Surgery question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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General Surgery · Breast and endocrine surgery: mucinous breast carcinoma

Sample item

A 70-year-old woman has a soft, well-circumscribed breast mass. Pathology shows tumour cell clusters floating in extracellular mucin, oestrogen receptor-positive, with a cut surface that is glistening and gelatinous. What is the prognostic significance?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

C. Relatively favourable prognosis

Pure mucinous (colloid) carcinoma is a special type that occurs in older women, is usually ER-positive and has a better prognosis than invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type. Axillary node involvement is uncommon.

Option by option

  • A. Poor prognosis, similar to inflammatory carcinoma

    Inflammatory carcinoma is aggressive and unrelated to this histology.

  • B. Uniformly resistant to endocrine therapy

    Most are ER-positive and respond to endocrine therapy.

  • C. Relatively favourable prognosis (correct)

    Correct. Pure mucinous carcinoma carries a favourable outcome.

  • D. Very high risk of early axillary spread

    Nodal spread is uncommon in the pure form.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

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Questions about this General Surgery question

What is the answer to this General Surgery question?

The best answer is C, Relatively favourable prognosis. Pure mucinous (colloid) carcinoma is a special type that occurs in older women, is usually ER-positive and has a better prognosis than invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type.

Why is "Poor prognosis, similar to inflammatory carcinoma" not the answer?

Inflammatory carcinoma is aggressive and unrelated to this histology.

Why is "Uniformly resistant to endocrine therapy" not the answer?

Most are ER-positive and respond to endocrine therapy.

Why is "Very high risk of early axillary spread" not the answer?

Nodal spread is uncommon in the pure form.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Breast and endocrine surgery: mucinous breast carcinoma in General Surgery. Axillary node involvement is uncommon.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Breast and endocrine surgery: mucinous breast carcinoma?

Learn classic signs and eponyms alongside what they diagnose. Then use the flashcards and the other General Surgery questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.