Breast cancer?
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a very common malignancy originating from breast tissue in woman. The condition has a strong genetic basis and is frequently observed in close relatives. Patients may have a palpable breast mass, enlarged lymph nodes in the armpits (axilla), breast pain, dimpling of the skin, or nipple abnormalities. Asymptomatic individuals may also be detected by routine breast cancer screening with mammogram.
Patients with advanced disease have a poor prognosis, but screening mammography has resulted in a significant decrease in the prevalence of the condition. Despite this, breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death and overall mortality in the United States. Due to the importance of this …show more content…
They are often firm, irregular, and fixed during palpation of the breast tissue. Regional lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) are often affected first during metastasis. Other lymph nodes in the chest, head, and neck may also become involved.
Patients with distant metastatic disease may develop bone pain in the back or leg, liver abnormalities, and lung symptoms (eg, cough, difficulty breathing).
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
Breast cancer is diagnosed by pathologic confirmation of tissue demonstrating carcinoma (malignant epithelial cells) on biopsy.
Asymptomatic women who are incidentally found to have a breast mass on routine mammography typically undergo breast biopsy guided by mammogram (stereotactic biopsy) or ultrasound. Those that have a breast mass typically receive fine-needle aspiration or core needle biopsy of the lesion. Individuals with quickly progressive lesions that are tender with signs of thickening and hardening of the skin require a full-thickness skin …show more content…
Patients with distant metastasis have a poor prognosis.
How is breast cancer treated?
Breast cancer is treated based on the stage of disease. This article focuses on the treatment of early or locally advanced breast cancer.
Patients with early-stage breast cancer usually receive lumpectomy or mastectomy to the breast and regional nodes with or without radiation treatment. Sometimes, adjuvant systemic therapies are offered as well depending on characteristics of the tumor. Patients with more locally advanced disease often require neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and endocrine therapy. The discussion of chemotherapy is beyond the scope of this article.
Endocrine therapy can be an effective systemic treatment in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. Premenopausal women are often treated with ovarian suppression, selective estrogen receptor modulators, and aromatase inhibitors.
• Ovarian suppression may be performed via ablation (eg, oophorectomy, ovarian irradiation) or with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists such as
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a very common malignancy originating from breast tissue in woman. The condition has a strong genetic basis and is frequently observed in close relatives. Patients may have a palpable breast mass, enlarged lymph nodes in the armpits (axilla), breast pain, dimpling of the skin, or nipple abnormalities. Asymptomatic individuals may also be detected by routine breast cancer screening with mammogram.
Patients with advanced disease have a poor prognosis, but screening mammography has resulted in a significant decrease in the prevalence of the condition. Despite this, breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death and overall mortality in the United States. Due to the importance of this …show more content…
They are often firm, irregular, and fixed during palpation of the breast tissue. Regional lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) are often affected first during metastasis. Other lymph nodes in the chest, head, and neck may also become involved.
Patients with distant metastatic disease may develop bone pain in the back or leg, liver abnormalities, and lung symptoms (eg, cough, difficulty breathing).
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
Breast cancer is diagnosed by pathologic confirmation of tissue demonstrating carcinoma (malignant epithelial cells) on biopsy.
Asymptomatic women who are incidentally found to have a breast mass on routine mammography typically undergo breast biopsy guided by mammogram (stereotactic biopsy) or ultrasound. Those that have a breast mass typically receive fine-needle aspiration or core needle biopsy of the lesion. Individuals with quickly progressive lesions that are tender with signs of thickening and hardening of the skin require a full-thickness skin …show more content…
Patients with distant metastasis have a poor prognosis.
How is breast cancer treated?
Breast cancer is treated based on the stage of disease. This article focuses on the treatment of early or locally advanced breast cancer.
Patients with early-stage breast cancer usually receive lumpectomy or mastectomy to the breast and regional nodes with or without radiation treatment. Sometimes, adjuvant systemic therapies are offered as well depending on characteristics of the tumor. Patients with more locally advanced disease often require neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and endocrine therapy. The discussion of chemotherapy is beyond the scope of this article.
Endocrine therapy can be an effective systemic treatment in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. Premenopausal women are often treated with ovarian suppression, selective estrogen receptor modulators, and aromatase inhibitors.
• Ovarian suppression may be performed via ablation (eg, oophorectomy, ovarian irradiation) or with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists such as