Sclerosing lesions of the breast.

Sclerosing lesions of the breast often mimic invasive carcinoma at the gross and microscopic levels and can pose a significant diagnostic challenge for surgical pathologists. This brief review is devoted to the histopathological characterization of 2 such sclerosing lesions of the breast: radial scars and sclerosing nipple adenomas. Microscopically, these lesions show similar morphological features: a zonal architectural pattern consisting of a central sclerotic region with entrapped distorted glands and a corona-like peripheral region with associated nonproliferative and proliferative fibrocystic changes. Important diagnostic features of these lesions are highlighted and contrasted with those of invasive carcinoma.