Elastosis in breast carcinoma.

Elastosis, the significant increase of elastic tissue, was identified by histochemical methods in 45 (53.5%) cases of an unselected series of breast cancers. They were all invasive ductal carcinomas with or without tubular differentiation. The highest proportion of tumors with elastosis was found in the "scirrhous" type of carcinomas. Elastosis was preponderantly of the focal variety, periductal and perivenous. The affected ducts were of large calibre, containing a normal, benign hyperplastic or carcinomatous epithelium. There were not observed correlations with the grade of malignancy and the extent of axillary lymph node metastases.