Data from: Ultra structural changes occurring in duct ectasia and periductal mastitits and their significance in etiopathogenesis

Introduction: Duct Ectasia (DE) and Periductal Mastitis (PDM) are the most
common benign breast conditions seen in women. The etiopathogenesis of
these entities is still not clear and most of the theories regarding the
causation are based on the histological features as seen on light
microscopy. The ultramicroscopic features associated with these conditions
that may give more insight to the etiopathogenesis are unknown. Aim: To
study the ultrastructural changes occurring in mammary duct cones in
patients with DE and PDM using Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM).
Method: Major ducts removed by radical duct excision from 21 patients with
final histopathological diagnosis of DE and PDM were subjected to TEM
study with 2 normal duct samples as controls Results: The TEM features of
DE were denudation of the epithelial cells with focal loss of microvilli,
widening of the inter-epithelial junctions with focal disruption of the T
bars, periductal collagenisation without inflammation; and features
suggestive of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). PDM features are
intact epithelial lining with proliferative epithelium and periductal
collagenisation with inflammation. Conclusions: Based on the TEM findings,
we suggest that DE and PDM are two different entities. EMT is a novel
finding observed in DE in this study.