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The term “breast cancer” refers to uncontrolled growth of the cells in the breast.
Usually breast cancer either begins in the cells of the lobules, which are the milk-producing glands, or the ducts that drain milk from the lobules to the nipple. Rarely, breast cancer can begin in the stromal tissues, which include the fibrous and fatty connective tissues of the breast.
Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 10.4% of all cancer incidences among women, making it the fifth most common cause of cancer death.17
Breast cancer is about 100 times more common in women than in men and the survival rates are equal in both the sexes.18
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Types of Breast Cancer
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Ductal Breast Cancer
Cancer arising from epithelial lining of the breast ducts in the breasts is called as ductal breast cancer. The ducts carry milk from the lobules or the glands of the breast to the nipple.
Ductal carcinoma accounts for about 75-80% of Breast Cancer.12
There are two types of the ductal breast cancer:
- Ductal Carcinoma in situ
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
Ductal Carcinoma in situ
Ductal carcinoma in situ starts in the cell of the ducts and remains there itself. It dose not spread to other parts.
In this type of cancer, the cells does not break through the walls of the duct and hence, the cancer cells don’t have the access to the blood stream or lymph nodes and as a result it cannot spread to the other parts of the body.
But, once if the cells break through the walls of the duct, it leads to Invasive Ductal carcinoma which can spread very fast. It has to be treated tenaciously.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
It is an advanced form of Ductal carcinoma. The cancer originated in the ducts has broken through the membrane of the duct and invaded in the surrounding.
In women, it is basically postmenopausal condition mostly occurring in the women over the age of 55 years.
Lobular Breast Cancer
Cancer arising from epithelium of smallest duct or from the milk gland themselves is called as the lobular Breast Cancer.
Lobular carcinoma accounts for about 10-15% of Breast Cancer.
There are two types of the Lobular breast cancer:
- Lobular Carcinoma in situ
- Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
Lobular Carcinoma in situ
Lobular Carcinoma in Situ starts in the lobules. Each breast has about 20 lobules which are drained by ducts which carry the milk to the nipples. Lobular Carcinoma in Situ develops in these lobules but does not break through the membrane to spread to the surrounding tissue.
It is often referred to as precancerous condition.
Lobular Carcinoma In Situ commonly occurs at around the the ages of 40 and 50 years. It is more common before menopause has occurred and is rare in men.
Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
After ductal breast cancer, Invasive Lobular Cancer is the second most common breast cancer. Invasive means that the cancer which had originally started in the lobules of the breast has broken through the basement membrane of the lobules and invaded in the surrounding tissues.
Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer can occur at any age but is most common in women between 45-55 years. It is basically a premenopausal condition.
It is common for lobular breast cancer to be diagnosed in both the breasts at the same time. If the condition occurs in only one breast, there is a high risk of it developing in the other breast after some time.
Invading cells of the lobular breast cancer in situ break out of the main tumor and spread through the entire breast network. A discrete mass or lump is not felt unless the tumor is quite large. |
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Pagets disease of Nipples3
Pagets disease of nipples was discovered by Sir James Paget. It is a very rare disease. It occurs in less than 5% of all women with breast cancers. It is mostly seen in combination with an underlying cancer of the breast ducts like Invasive Ductal Breast cancer or Invasive Lobular Breast cancer.
It rarely occurs in young women. It commonly occurs after the age of 60 years in both men and women.
Symptoms:
- In first stage, red, flaky and scaly rashes can be seen, which can spread from the nipple to the surrounding areola.
- As the disease progresses, there may be tingling, itching, and pain over the rash.
- Discharge may ooze out from the rash, forming a crust after drying.
- With more skin destruction, there may be knocking down of the nipple against the breast.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer3
It is a rare but aggressive type of breast cancer. Its symptoms resemble an infection or an allergic reaction, and are often the same symptoms found in some benign breast diseases, which makes diagnosis difficult.
Symptoms:
- The breast may look reddish or pinkish and it may also feel warm.
- Ridges, pitting or urticaria may be present on the breast, and the skin may look like the peel of an orange.
- There may also be pain in the breast which can be either sharp stabbing or persistent aches.
- There may also be discharge from the nipple.
Inflammatory Breast cancer grows and metastasizes rapidly and is very serious.
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| Stages of Breast Cancer |
Like other Cancers, Breast cancer is classified by stages. The stages indicate the size of the tumor and how far the cancer has spread from the original tumor.
Breast cancer is classified in five stages:4 |
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The stages can be described as below5
Stage 0: It is non invasive breast cancer. The cancer cells are confined to ducts and lobules. It is called as carcinoma in situ.
Stage 1: The tumor is still within the breast and no lymph nodes are involved. It’s 2 centimeters or less in diameter.
Stage 2: The tumor size is between 2-5 centimeters. The axillary lymph nodes tests positive for cancer.
Stage 3: This stage is divided into two stages i.e. A&B.
- Stage 3A: The tumor is larger than 5 centimeters and spreads to lymph nodes under the arm.
- Stage 3B: The tumor spreads to the skin, chest wall or lymph nodes near the sternum, or the breastbone.
Stage 4: It is described as Invasive breast cancer. The tumor breaks and the cancer cells spread all around. The lymph system and blood stream carry them to other parts of the body.
Cancer cells may spread to bones, liver, lungs or brain.
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