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CANCER
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What are the different types of breast cancer?
Below are the different kinds of breast cancer. It is unusual for a breast tumor to be a combination of these different kinds and to have a mixture of invasive and in situ (confined to the breast) cancer.
Adenocarcinoma - Most breast cancers begin in the ducts or lobules of
the breast. These are glandular tissues. The two most common types of
breast adenocarcinomas are ductal carcinomas and lobular carcinomas.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (also known as intraductal carcinoma or noninvasive breast cancer) - This is early stage breast cancer is confined to the ducts and has not invaded surrounding tissue.
Infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma (IDC) - This type is the most common of all breast cancers. It begins in a duct, or milk passage; breaks through the lining of the duct; and invades the fatty tissue of the breast. About 70 to 80 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer are this type.
Infiltrating (or invasive) lobular carcinoma (ILC) - This type starts in the ends of the ducts or in the lobules. It accounts for about 10 percent of invasive breast cancers. It can be more difficult to detect by a mammogram than invasive ductal carcinoma.
Inflammatory breast cancer - This is a rare form of breast cancer (only about 1 to 3 percent of all breast cancers). In this type, the skin of the breast looks red, inflamed, and pitted because the skin lymph vessels are blocked by cancer.
Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) (also called lobular neoplasia) - is not a cancer, but its presence means that there is a small increase in the risk of developing breast cancer later in life. Even so, most women with LCIS do not develop breast cancer.
Each breast contains hundreds of tiny lobules where milk is produced before and after childbirth. With LCIS, changes are found in the cells in the lining of the lobules or lobes of the breast. It is often present in both breasts. LCIS is more common in women who have not reached their menopause (change of life).
LCIS does not show up on a mammogram (breast x-ray). It is usually discovered as a chance finding, when a sample of breast tissue is taken and examined under a microscope (biopsy), or when a breast lump is removed.
Doctors now usually recommend that women with LCIS have breast examinations every 6–12 months, and mammograms every 1–2 years. Any changes in the breast can then be picked up at the earliest stage and treated if appropriate.
