OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast and to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this disease.

METHODSThe clinicopathological data of 22 patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast treated in our hospital between January 1985 and January 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. The correlation between age, tumor size, axillary node status, treatment modality and prognosis was statistically analyzed.

RESULTSAll the 22 patients were female and their median age was 56 years.The average tumor diameter was 3.6 cm.The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology. The positive rates of expression of ER, PR and HER-2 of the breast cancers were 9. 1%, 9. 1% and 33. 3%, respectively. In follow-up visits, recurrence or metastasis was found in 5 patients and they all died of it. The median overall survival of the 22 patients was 60 months and their overall 5-year survival rate was 73.6%. Univariate analysis showed that the tumor maximum diameter (P = 0.024) and axillary lymph node status (P = 0.022) were impact factors, while menopause, chemotherapy and radiotherapy were not. Cox multivariate analysis showed that the tumor size (P = 0.021) and axillary lymph node status (P = 0.037) were independent prognostic factors for primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast.

CONCLUSIONSPrimary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast is a rare entity and lack of specific clinical features. Axillary node status is an independent prognostic factor.