Breast Cancer and Screening Flashcards
What are risk factors related to the development of breast cancer?
OESTROGEN INCREASE
- Gender
- Age (rare <25 years)
- Menstrual history (increased oestrogen exposure)
-
Age at first pregnancy
- Early age reduces risk
- Pregnancy >30 years is increased risk
- Nulliparity is increased risk
- Not breastfeeding
-
PMH
- Past breast cancer,
- Previous surgery for benign breast disease
- Radiation
- Drugs - HRT, small increase on COCP
- Family history
- Alcohol
- Obesity
-
Genetics
- BRCA1/2 gene
- TP53
- PTEN
- HER2
‘3 Ages’ - Early menarche, Late menopause, 1st pregnancy after 30 yrs
What are examples of non-invasive breast carcinoma?
- Ductal carcinoma in situ
- Lobular carcinoma in situ
What are examples of invasive breast cancer?
- Infiltrating ductal carcinoma
- Infiltrating lobular carcinoma
- Mucinous carcinoma
- Medullary carcinoma
- Papillary carcinoma
- Tubular carcinoma (low grade, good prognosis)
Where is the BRCA 1 gene located?
Chromosome 17q
Where is the BRCA 2 gene located?
Chromosome 13q
What is the risk associated with BRCA 1 gene mutation?
65%
What is the risk associated with BRCA 2 gene?
45%
What is the risk of ovarian cancer associated with the BRCA 1 gene?
39%
What is the risk of ovarian cancer with the BRCA 2 gene?
11%
How is oestrogen thought to play a part in the development of breast cancer?
Overexposure increases the risk of breast cancer:
- Early menarche - more period cycles
- Late manopause - more period cycles
- HRT - oestrogen exposure
- OCP - oestrogen exposure
What is ductal carcinoma in situ?
A pre-cancerous or non-invasive cancerous lesion of the breast found in cells lining the milk ducts of the breast. In situ refers tot he fact that cells have not moved out of the mammary duct and into any of the surrounding tissue.
Doesn’t form palpable tumour.
Segmentla areas affected.
What is lobular carcinoma in situ?
An incidental microscopic finding with characteristic cellular morphology and multifocal tissue patterns. The condition is a laboratory diagnosis and refers to unusual cells in the lobules of the breast.
Tends to be multifocal and bilateral.
What age group does DCIS commonly occur in?
40-60 years
What is the risk of preogression from non-invasive to invasive
Low grade DCIS = 30% in 15 years
High grade DCIS = 50% in 8 years
LCIS = 19% in 25 years and bilaterally
Who does LCIS occur more commonly in; premenopausal or postmenopausal women?
Premenopausal women
What is the most common type of invasive carcinoma?
Ductal carcinoma (85%)
How is DCIS seen on mammography?
Microcalcification - unifocal or widespread
What age group do medullary cancers tend to affect?
Younger women
What breast cancer tend to more commonly affect older age groups?
Colloid/mucoid
What percentage of breast cancers are oestrogen receptor positive?
60-70%
What proportion of those with breast cancer express HER2 gene?
Approximately 30%
What is paget’s disease of the nipple associated with?
- DCIS
- Invasive carcinoma
What is Paget’s disease of the nipple?
90% of patients have an invasive carcinoma (typically intraductal)
Roughening, reddening and slight ulceration of the nipple, similar to the skin changes of eczema. It is a result of intraepithelial spread of intraductal carcinoma.
It is often Limited to the nipple and can extend to the areola. Pain or itching, scaling and redness, Ulceration, crusting, serous or bloody discharge are all features
How does breast cancer spread?
- Local - skin, pectoralis muscles, opposite breast
- Lymphatic - axillary and internal mammary nodes
- Blood - bone, lungs, liver, brain
What are symptoms of breast cancer?
- Lump
- Bleeding/discharge from the nipple
- Change in shape/contours
- Change in appearence
- Redness
-
Painless or pain
- More commonly painless
- If pain can be cyclical (worse in latter 1/2 of cycle and releived by period or non cyclical)
- Symptoms of metastatic disease - weight loss, breathlessness, back pain, abdominal mass
What are signs of breast cancer?
- Lump - fixed, non-fluctuant, hard
- Asymmetrical breast shape
- Dimpling
- Recent non-reversible nipple inversion
- Discharge
-
Skin cahnges
- Peau d’orange
- Erythema
- Ulceration (late sign)
- Paget’s disease of the nipple
- Axillary/supraclavicular lymphadenopathy
- Signs of mets - hepatomegaly, lung signs
What is the following?
Ulcerating breast cancer
What is the following?
Dimpling - caused by by retraction of ligaments of cooper
What is the following?
Peau d’orange - combination of oedema of breast and tethering by ligaments of cooper
What is the following?
Paget’s disease of the nipple
What is the following?
Nipple inversion/retraction
What are causes of nipple discharge?
- Duct ectasia
- Intraductal papilloma/adenoma/carcinoma
- Lactation
What are causes of nipple inversion?
- Duct ectasia
- Carcinoma
- Benign inversion
- Post-surgical