Breast cancerDefinition Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) growth that begins in the tissues of the breast. Over the course of a lifetime, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Causes, incidence, and risk factors There are several different types of breast cancer.
Some women have what is known as HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2, short for human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, is a gene that helps control cell growth, division, and repair. When cells have too many copies of this gene, cell growth speeds up. It’s believed that HER2 plays a key role in turning healthy cells into cancerous ones. Some women with breast cancer have too much HER2, and are therefore considered HER2-positive. Research suggests that women with HER2-positive breast cancer have a more aggressive disease and a higher risk of recurrence than those who have HER2 negative breast cancer. Risk factors for breast cancer include:
The Gail Model is a simple breast cancer risk assessment tool that is available online and takes into account the most important risk factors. A number of other models are also used. Symptoms
Signs and tests Any worrisome breast changes should be confirmed and investigated by a medical professional. After getting as much information as possible about the symptom and any risk factors, the physician performs a physical examination including both breasts, armpits, and the area of the neck and chest. Additional tests and treatment may then be recommended:
If breast cancer is diagnosed, additional testing is performed, including chest X-ray and blood tests. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of these may then be recommended, not only for treatment, but also to help determine the stage of disease. Staging is important to help guide future treatment and follow-up, and to give some idea of what to expect in the future. Stages of Breast Cancer (from the American Joint Committee on Cancer):
Many additional factors besides staging can influence the recommended treatment and the likely outcome. These can include the precise cell type and appearance of the cancer, whether the cancer cells respond to hormones, and the presence or absence of genes known to cause breast cancer. Treatment The choice of initial treatment is based on many factors. For stage I, II, or III cancers, the main considerations are to adequately treat the cancer and prevent a recurrence either at the place of the original tumor (local) or elsewhere in the body (metastatic). For stage IV cancer, the goal is to improve symptoms and prolong survival. However, in most cases, stage IV breast cancer cannot be cured.
Most women receive a combination of these treatments. For stage 0 breast cancer, mastectomy or lumpectomy plus radiation is the standard treatment. However, there is some controversy on how best to treat DCIS. For stage 1 and 2 disease, lumpectomy (plus radiation) or mastectomy with at least "sentinel node" lymph node removal is standard treatment. Chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab, hormone therapy, or both may be recommended following surgery. The presence of breast cancer in the axillary lymph nodes is very useful for staging and the appropriate follow-up treatment. Stage III patients are usually treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy with or without hormonal therapy. Radiation therapy may also be considered under special circumstances. Stage IV breast cancer may be treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or a combination of these (depending on the situation). Support Groups The stress of breast cancer can often be helped by joining a support group where members share common experiences and problems. See cancer support group. Expectations (prognosis) The clinical stage of breast cancer is the best indicator for prognosis (probable outcome), in addition to some other factors. Five-year survival rates for individuals with breast cancer who receive appropriate treatment are approximately:
The axillary (armpit) lymph nodes are the main passageway that breast cancer cells must use to reach the rest of the body. Their involvement at any time strongly affects the prognosis. Chemotherapy and hormone therapy can improve prognosis in all patients and increase the likelihood of cure in patients with stage I, II, and III disease. Complications Even with aggressive and appropriate treatments, breast cancer often spreads (metastasizes) to other parts of the body such as the lungs, liver and bones. The recurrence rate is about 5% after total mastectomy and removing armpit lymph nodes when the nodes are found not to have cancer. The recurrence rate is 25% in those with similar treatment when the nodes have cancer. Other complications can be the result of surgery, altered drainage of the lymph from the arm, radiation changes and treatment with chemotherapy and tamoxifen. But the results of delaying or avoiding early detection and treatment of breast cancer are far more distressing and often deadly. Calling your health care provider See your health care provider if you are a man or a woman who notices any of the symptoms which could indicate breast cancer or:
Prevention Many risk factors cannot be controlled. Some experts in the field of diet and cancer agree that changes in diet and lifestyle may reduce the incidence of cancer generally. Efforts have focused on early detection since breast cancer is more easily treated and often curable if it is found early. Breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) by a medical professional, and screening mammography are the three tools of early detection. Women who carry the BRCA mutations have several effective options for screening and prevention. Most recommend breast self-examinations (BSE) once a month -- the week following your menstrual period if you are age 20 or older. Regular clinical breast examinations (CBE) by a health professional are recommended for women between ages 20 and 39, at least every 3 years. After age 40, women should have a CBE by a health professional every year. Mammography is the most effective way of detecting breast cancer early. The American Cancer Society recommends mammogram screening every year for all women age 40 and older. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommends mammogram screening every 1-2 years for women age 40 and older. For those with risk factors, including a close family member with the disease, annual mammograms should begin 10 years earlier than the age at which the relative was diagnosed. Questions have been raised about the benefit of screening mammography. Some respected medical organizations such as PDQ, part of the NCI, no longer recommend screening mammography. This is a topic fraught with controversy, and a woman needs to have an informed and balanced discussion with her doctor, along with doing additional reading and researching on her own, to determine if mammography is right for her. Two drugs are being studied currently that have been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer: tamoxifen (Nolvadex ®) and raloxifene (Evista ®). Both are anti-estrogens in breast tissue. Tamoxifen is already widely used to prevent recurrence in women who have been treated for breast cancer. Many other newer hormonal agents, such as aromatase inhibitors and others, are being used after Tamoxifen is stopped, or even in place of Tamoxifen. For some women at very high risk of breast cancer, preventive use of these drugs may be appropriate. This should be discussed with a qualified physician. Preventive Mastectomy, which is the surgical removal of one or both breasts, is an option to prevent breast cancer for women who are at very high risk for breast cancer. Possible candidates for this procedure are women who have already had one breast removed due to cancer, women with a strong family history of breast cancer and those who have a mutation in genes p53, BRCA1, or have gene BRCA2. For additional information on breast cancer, see the website of the American Cancer Society. References Piccart-Gebhart MJ, Procter M, Leyland-Jones B, et al. Trastuzumab after adjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 20;353(16):1659-72. Romond EH, Perez EA, Bryant J, et al. Trastuzumab plus adjuvant chemotherapy for operable HER2-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005 Oct 20;353(16):1673-84. Menard S, Pupa SM, Campiglio M, Tagliabue E. Biologic and therapeutic role of HER2 in cancer. Oncogene. 2003 Sep 29;22(42):6570-8. Illustrations
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