Breast cancer is a cancer that begins in the cells of the breast. It strikes mostly women, but men can also be diagnosed with it. Breast cancer is not one uniform disease, but a category that encompasses various types of breast cancers. These cancers are typically grouped into categories depending on where they begin, the kind of tissues in which they start, or the symptoms they manifest. Some types are more common than others, and some cancers have characteristics of more than one type.
Non-invasive carcinomas
Non-invasive breast carcinomas are cancers that have not spread past the tissues in which it started. These types of cancers include ductal carcinoma in situ, lobular carcinoma in situ, and Paget's disease.
Ductal carcinoma in situ, also called DCIS, is the most common kind of non-invasive carcinoma, according to the American Cancer Society. It is considered a precursor to invasive breast cancer, and is often diagnosed on a mammogram by clusters of microcalcifications. When looking at prognostic factors, physicians will separate these cancers into two types, the comedo type and the noncomedo type, with the comedo more likely to recur.
Lobular carcinoma in situ, commonly called LCIS, is not technically a cancer, but a marker for women who are at higher risk of later developing invasive cancer in either breast. This type of disease is usually not found on exam, but during a nonrelated breast biopsy. Since the increased risk of breast cancer in women with LCIS remains for over 20 years, lifelong surveillance and follow-up are recommended.
Paget's disease of the nipple is a kind of ductal carcinoma that starts in the main ducts of the breast. It spreads to involve the skin of the nipple and areola (Govindan, 2008). The skin around the nipple begins to look scaly and red, and sometimes bleeds. It is rare, and comprises only one percent of all breast cancers, and is associated with DCIS (cancer.org).
Common Types of Invasive Carcinomas
The most common kind of invasive breast cancer is invasive (sometimes called infiltrating) ductal carcinoma. The American Cancer Society approximates that eight out of 10 invasive breast cancers are of this type. This cancer starts in a milk duct and spreads into the fatty breast tissue.
Invasive lobular carcinoma starts in the lobules, the milk-producing glands. This type of cancer accounts for one out of ten invasive breast cancers.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Inflammatory breast cancer is a type of invasive breast cancer, but does not usually have a lump. It constitutes 1 to 3 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses, says the American Cancer Society. Symptoms include swelling of the breast, redness, and warmth. The skin on the breast can also start to look pitted like an orange peel (called peau d'orange). Since there is generally not a lump, it may not appear on a mammogram and can also be mistaken for a breast infection. This cancer is more likely to spread and has a worse prognosis than the other invasive breast cancers.
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Triple-negative breast cancer is breast cancer that does not have the "receptors" that help most breast cancers grow, namely estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and HER2. Most treatments used for breast cancer, like hormone therapies and targeted therapies like Herceptin work on these receptors, but do not work on triple-negative breast cancers. These cancers are usually aggressive, strike younger women and women of color and are more likely to recur, but are very responsive to chemotherapy, says the American Cancer Society.
Metastatic Breast Cancer
Breast cancer that has spread to other organs of the body is called metastatic breast cancer. When breast cancer spreads to other sites, it is still breast cancer, just in another part of the body. The most common places for breast cancer to metastasize are the bones, brain, lungs and liver, according to Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan in the 2008 edition of The Washington Manual of Oncology. It is incurable, but treatable, with the aim being to relieve any symptoms, control the spread of the cancer, maintain quality of life and extend survival, Govindan says. He says the average survival time is two to three years, but with newer treatments, more women are living five years or possibly more.
Tags: breast cancers, breast cancer, invasive breast, American Cancer, American Cancer Society, Cancer Society
