Download your Full Reports for Breast Cancer
Breast cancer arises in the milk-producing glands of the breast tissue. Groups of glands in normal breast tissue are called lobules.
The products of these glands are secreted into a ductal system that leads to the nipple. Depending on where in the glandular or ductal unit of the breast the cancer arises, it will develop certain characteristics that are used to sub-classify breast cancer into types.
The pathologist will denote the subtype at the time of evaluation with the microscope. Ductal carcinoma begins in the ducts, and lobular carcinoma has a pattern involving the lobules or glands. The more important classification is related to the evaluated tumor's capability to invade, as this characteristic defines the disease as a true cancer.
The stage before invasive cancer is called in situ, meaning that the early malignancy has not yet become capable of invasion. Thus, ductal carcinoma in situ is considered a minimal breast cancer.
Download your Full Reports for Breast CancerWhat is breast cancer
The term ?breast cancer? refers to a malignant tumour that has developed from cells in the breast. Usually breast cancer either begins in the cells of the lobules, which are the milk-producing glands, or the ducts, the passages that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple. Less commonly, breast cancer can begin in the stromal tissues, which include the fatty and fibrous connective tissues of the breast.
Tumour: A tumour can be benign (not dangerous to health) or malignant (has the potential to be dangerous). Benign tumours are not considered cancerous: their cells are close to normal in appearance, they grow slowly, and they do not invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumours are cancerous. Left unchecked, malignant cells eventually can spread beyond the original tumour to other parts of the body.
TYPES OF DISEASE:
Ductal carcinoma in situ: The most common type of noninvasive breast cancer is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This type of cancer has not spread and therefore usually has a very high cure rate.
Invasive ductal carcinoma: This cancer starts in a duct of the breast and grows into the surrounding tissue. It is the most common form of breast cancer. About 80% of invasive breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinoma.
Invasive lobular carcinoma: This breast cancer starts in the glands of the breast that produce milk. Approximately 10% of invasive breast cancers are invasive lobular carcinoma.
The remainder of breast cancers are much less common and include the following:
Mucinous carcinoma are formed from mucus-producing cancer cells.
Mixed tumors contain a variety of cell types.
Medullary carcinoma is an infiltrating breast cancer that presents with well-defined boundaries between the cancerous and noncancerous tissue.
Inflammatory breast cancer: This cancer makes the skin of the breast appear red and feel warm (giving it the appearance of an infection). These changes are due to the blockage of lymph vessels by cancer cells.
Triple-negative breast cancers: This is a subtype of invasive cancer with cells that lack estrogens and progesterone receptors and have no excess of a specific protein (HER2) on their surface. It tends to appear more often in younger women and African-American women.
Paget's disease of the nipple: This cancer starts in the ducts of the breast and spreads to the nipple and the area surrounding the nipple. It usually presents with crusting and redness around the nipple.
Adenoid cystic carcinoma: These cancers have both glandular and cystic features. They tend not to spread aggressively and have a good prognosis.
The following are other uncommon types of breast cancer:
Papillary carcinoma
Phyllodes tumour
Angiosarcoma
Tubular carcinoma
CAUSES OF BREAST CANCER
There are many risk factors that increase the chance of developing breast cancer. Although we know some of these risk factors, we don't know how these factors cause the development of a cancer cell.
Download your Full Reports for Breast Cancer
Summary
Breast cancer affects many women and, in rare cases, men. Changes in the breast, including lumps, discharge, pain, puckering or anything 'not normal', should be reported to a doctor. Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone treatment.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women. One in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85. In Australia, about 13,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Around 3,265 Victorian women are diagnosed with the disease every year.
Breast cancer can occur at any age, but it is most common in women over the age of 60 years. Around one quarter of women are younger than 50. Men can also develop breast cancer, although this is extremely rare. Each year, about 30 men are diagnosed in Victoria.
There are different types of breast cancer, but they all begin in the milk ducts or the milk lobules (or both). Some breast cancers are found when they are ?in situ?. This means they have not spread outside the milk duct or lobule where they began.
Most breast cancers are found when they are ?invasive?. This means the cancers have grown beyond the duct or lobule, where they began, into other breast tissue or out of the breast. Breast cancer that spreads out of the breast may spread to lymph nodes in the armpit nearest the breast affected by cancer (axillary lymph nodes). It can also spread to other parts of the body such as the bones, lungs and liver.
Risks and causes
The exact cause of breast cancer is unknown, but factors that seem to increase risk include:
Download your Full Reports for Breast Cancer
Other risk factors
Other factors that seem to increase risk include:
Having some of these risk factors does not mean that you will get breast cancer. Most women with breast cancer have no known risk factors, aside from getting older. More research needs to be done before we can be definite about risk factors.
In men, the main risk factor is abnormal enlargement of the breasts (gynaecomastia) due to drug, chemical or hormone treatments, or because of Klinefelter?s syndrome (a sex chromosome disorder). Men?s risk increases where there is a family history of male breast cancer or a strong family history of breast cancer.
Download your Full Reports for Breast Cancer
Changes in the breast
Breasts undergo many changes in a woman?s life ? due to puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, breastfeeding, changes in weight or ageing. It is important for all women to get to know the normal look and feel of their breasts.
By regularly checking your breasts, you may be able to recognise changes that could be a sign of breast cancer. Such changes include:
Please be aware that some of these symptoms occur without any serious disease being present. Nine out of 10 breast changes are not breast cancer. However, any unusual breast change should be checked by a doctor, just to be sure.
Download your Full Reports for Breast Cancer
Advertisement