TYPES OF BREAST CANCER

DCIS —

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ is the earliest form of ductal breast cancer. Cells have been identified within the milk ducts as cancerous, but have yet to leave those contained areas. These patients have an excellent prognosis and multiple treatment options based upon their personal needs and doctor’s suggestions: lumpectomy and radiation, mastectomy and reconstruction, and/or hormone therapies are common.

IDC –

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, also known as infiltrating ductal carcinoma, is the most common form of breast cancer. This cancer starts as cells in the milk ducts and spreads to the other breast tissues. Over time, it can also spread beyond the breast.

MALE BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer in men is rare. Less than 1% of all breast cancers occur in men. In 2021, about 2,650 men are expected to be diagnosed with the disease, and an estimated 530 men are expected to die from breast cancer. Men, just like women, are born with breast tissue and can develop breast cancer.

If you or your loved one is a man and diagnosed with breast cancer, please find The Male Breast Cancer Coalition or their Facebook page.

RECEPTORS

Your pathology report will include the results of a hormone receptor assay, a test that tells you whether or not the breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Hormone receptors are proteins — found in and on breast cells — that pick up hormone signals telling the cells to grow.

ER-/+ or PR-/+

You may hear the term Estrogen Receptor Negative/Positive or Progesterone Receptor Negative/Positive. During your diagnosis, you may have a test called an IHC (ImmunoHistoChemistry).  Most breast cancers are ER+ and PR+.  That means that the cancer cells have receptors that “like” estrogen and progesterone. You will probably need some kind of hormone therapy that blocks your body’s hormones and therefore lowers your risk for cancer recurrence. If your tests come back with a negative, hormone therapy is probably not recommended, but other types of treatment may be suggested.

HER2-/+

The HER2 gene makes HER2 proteins. HER2 proteins are receptors on breast cells. Normally, HER2 receptors help control how a healthy breast cell grows, divides, and repairs itself, but in about 25% of breast cancers, the HER2 gene doesn’t work correctly and makes too many copies of itself (known as HER2 gene amplification). All these extra HER2 genes tell breast cells to make too many HER2 receptors (HER2 protein overexpression). This makes breast cells grow and divide in an uncontrolled way.  HER2 positive breast cancers tend to grow faster and are more likely to spread and come back compared to HER2 negative breast cancers. But there are medicines specifically for HER2 positive breast cancers that are showing very positive results.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Here are some additional resources with more information on symptoms and definitions:

• Breast Cancer Hormone Positive Receptors
• Breast Cancer HER2 Receptor
• Breast Cancer Symptoms
• Breast Cancer Surgeries
• Breast Cancer Treatment

For a comprehensive breast cancer glossary, click here to visit Komen.org.

STAGES

Most cancers are described by stages, and in breast cancer those stages are numbered 0 to 4. The higher the number, the more advanced the disease. While all forms of breast cancer should be taken very seriously, the earlier the diagnosed stage, the better the prognosis and the more choices a patient will have for treatments. The following is a very simple and brief synopsis of each stage (please note that there is far more complexity to cancer stages than what is written here):

Stage 0 

Commonly referred to as DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ), the cancer cells are still within the milk ducts and have likely not traveled to the surrounding tissue in the breast. It is also called noninvasive cancer.

Stage 1-3: Please see BreastCancer.org for complete detail of these stages. 

Stage 4

Often referred to as “metastatic cancer”, cancer cells from the breast have set up shop in other parts of the body. The most common places include the lungs, liver, brain, and bones. Cancer can also be defined as stage 4 when it travels to distant lymph nodes or is fixed to the chest wall.

To learn more about breast cancer stages, visit BreastCancer.org.

Even if you do not have metastatic breast cancer, check out the comprehensive Insider’s Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer by Anne Loeser, an MBC patient.  The booklet contains up-to-date information about the disease, standard and investigational treatments, coping with symptoms and side effects, and more.  As one reader stated, “It should be given to every woman immediately upon receiving a diagnosis of MBC.”