Breast cancer Flashcards
How do we name breast cancer?
- Most arise from duct tissue, followed by lobular tissue- described as ductal or lobular carcinoma respectively
- Then subdivided as to whether cancer has spread beyond local tissue ( carcinoma-in-situ) or has spread (invasive)
Most common types of breast cancer incl?
- Invasive ductal carcinoma (this is now know as No Special Type)
- Ivasive lobular carcinoma
- Ducatal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
- Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)
What are the ‘Special Types” of breast cancer
- Lobular carcinoma
- Medullary breast cancer
- Mucinous (mucoid or colloid) breast cancer
- Tubular breast cancer
- Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast
- Metaplastic breast cancer
- Lymphoma of the breast
- Basal type breast cancer
- Phyllodes or cystosarcoma phyllodes
- Papillary breast cancer
What is Pagets Disease of the nipple?
- Eczematoid change of the nipple associated with an underlying breast malignancy
- In half of these pts its associated with an underlying mass lesion -90% of those pts with have an invasive carcinoma
- 30% without a mass lesion will still be found to have an underlying carcinoma
- The remainder will have carcinoma in situ
What is inflammatory breast cancer?
- where cancerous cells block the lymph drainage resulting in an inflamed appearance of the breast. This accounts for around 1 in 10,000 cases of breast cancer.
What is triple assessment?
- One stop shop for 2 ww
Involves: - History and examination
- Imaging
- Histology- core needle biopsy as fine needle is cytology only and core needle can differentiate between invasive and in situ carcinoma.
What is an in situ carcinoma?
- Neoplastic population of cells limited to ducts and lobules by basement membrane (BM), myoepithelial cells are preserved.
- Does NOT invade into vessels and therefore cannot metastasise or kill the patient.
What is the significance of peau d’orange?
What type of breast cancer is it more likely to be?
- Means lymphatic drainage of the skin of breast is involved
- More likely to be an invasive breast cancer as invades lymph nodes
What factors affect the prognosis of breast cancer?
5
- Whether the malignant tumour is in-situ or invasive
- The stage- TNM
- Grade of the tumour
- Histology of the tumour
- Gene expression profile
A patient presents with:
3cm highly mobile lesion on her breast
1) What is you top differential?
2) How do they present
3) What is the prognosis
4) When would you excise it?
- Fibroadenoma
- highly mobile lesions, well defined and rubbery, most are less than 5cm
- Low malignant potential and can be left in situ with routine follow ups over a 2 year period, up to 30% will get smaller
- Greater than 3cm in diameter or pt preference
What is invasive breast cancer?
- Neoplastic population of cells NOT limited to ducts and lobules by basement membrane (BM), myoepithelial cells are preserved.
- Can invade into vessels and therefore can metastasise / kill the patient.
RF for breast cancer?
- BRCA1, BRCA2 genes - 40% lifetime risk of breast/ovarian cancer
- 1st degree relative premenopausal relative with breast cancer (e.g. mother)
- nulliparity, 1st pregnancy > 30 yrs (twice risk of women having 1st child < 25 yrs)
- early menarche, late menopause
- combined hormone replacement therapy (relative risk increase * 1.023/year of use), combined oral contraceptive use
- past breast cancer
- not breastfeeding
- ionising radiation
- p53 gene mutations
- obesity
- previous surgery for benign disease (?more follow-up, scar hides lump)
When do you refer a pt for suspected breast cancer?
- aged 30 and over and have an unexplained breast lump with or without pain or
- aged 50 and over with any of the following symptoms in one nipple only: discharge, retraction or other changes of concern
When should you consider referral of someone via 2ww for breast cancer?
- with skin changes that suggest breast cancer or
- aged 30 and over with an unexplained lump in the axilla
When should you consider non-urgent referral to breast clinic?
- under 30 with an unexplained breast lump with or without pain