Genetic similarities and differences between lobular in situ neoplasia (LN) and invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast

One of the most controversial issues in breast pathology is whether lobular neoplasia (LN) is a risk factor or a precursor lesion of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). This is consequent to the fact that no conclusive data on the biology of LN exist. Molecular studies of LN and ILC are scanty, variable, and not consistent. Clonality of 12 cases of LN and ILC present simultaneously in the same block has been studied. Cells from both lesions were obtained by microdissection and were studied for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), D-loop sequencing, and neighbor-joining trees. Eight of the same cases were studied with comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) array to have additional data consistent with mtDNA. In all cases, loss of heterozygosity was studied for D16S496,locus 16q22.1 related to e-cadherin. It appears that no fewer than eight cases were genetically very similar (clonal) with mtDNA. Seven of these cases appeared also clonal with CGH array. It is concluded that in the present series, LN and ILC are genetically related lesions in the majority of cases and that LN might be the precursor of ILC.