Breast cancer Flashcards
What are the clinical features of breast cancer
Breast size changes
Breast asymmetry
Lumps
Mastalgia
Paget’s disease of the nipple
Nipple retraction
Nipple discharge & bleeding
‘Peu d’orange’ nipple
What are the 2 types of breast cancer
Invasive
Non-invasive
What are the different types of invasive breast cancer
Ductal
Lobular
Medullary
Mucinous
Papillary
Tubular
What are the different types of non-invasive breast cancer
Ductal Carinoma In Situ (DCIS)
Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS)
What is the difference between invasive and non-invasive breast cancer
Non-invascive carcinomas are still attached to the basement membrane so they are ‘in situ’
What test is used to differentiate between lobular and ductal breast cancers and what is the difference between the two
E-cadherin test
Ductal -> E-cadherin +ve
Lobular -> E-cadherin -ve
So if an E-cadehrin test is +ve for a breast cancer, what type of breast cancer is diagnosed
Ductal
What is the gold-standard investigation for breast cancer
Mammogram
What type of imaging is used in a mamogram
USS
At what age are all women offered a mamogram to screen for breast cancer
50
Along with mamograms, what other investiations are used for breast cancer
FNA cytology
Core biopsy
Bloods
USS
A core biopsy sample must be taken of what prior to surgery for breast cancer
Sentinel node
What are the 2 diagnostic signs of breast cancer on a mammogram
Soft tissue opacities
Microcalcifications
Why are mammograms less sensitive in younger woman
As these women have higher amounts of glandular tissue
What are some of the risk factors for breast cancer
Old age
Being a woman (men can still get it tho bro)
Early menarche
Late menopause
Family history
Previous history
HRT use
Contraceptive use
No pregnancies (0 parity)
Does having a high parity (lots of baby children) put you at a higher risk of breast cancer
Nah it’s the opposite mate
What genes are responsible for breast cancer’s being linked in families
BRAC-1
BRAC-2
p53
Early menarche is a risk factor for breast cancer, what does it mean
Having your first period early doors
What are the treatments for breast cancer
Radiotherapy
Chemotherapy
HRT
Anti-HER2 therapy
Surgery
What biologic is an example of anti-HER2 therapy that is used to treat breast cancer
Tratuzumab
What is used in HRT as treatment for breast cancer
Tamoxifen
What are the surgical treatments for breast cancer
Mastecomy
Breast conserving surgery
LN (sentineal) removal
What needs to be removed prior to surgery for breast cancer
Senitenal LN
What are some of the potential causes of breast cancer
Genetics (BRAC-1, BRAC-2 & p53)
Fat necrosis
What tumour markers are used to detect breast cacner
Cancer antigen-125 (CA-125)
HER-2
What are some of the complicatinos of breast cancer
Breast cancer in the other breast
Mets
Death
Reoccurance
When is anti-HER2 therapy used as treatment for breast cancer
After chemotherapy
When treating breast cancer in younger women, what is more effective out of radiotherapy or chemotherapy
Chemo
Give 2 examples of complications of radiotherapy
Radiation pneumonitis
Telangictasia
Radiotherpay and chemothearpy can be used as either neoadjuvants or adjuvants, what is the difference between the two
Neoadjuvants -> Before surgery
Adjuvants -> After surgery
