Breasts and Cancer Flashcards
Top 3 chief complaints of breast health
Breast tenderness
Breast mass or lump
Nipple discharge
Orange peel sign
D/t retraction of suspensory ligaments > signs of lymphatic invasion
Vertical strip method of palpation
While supine, use three middle fingers and apply three levels of pressure in a circular motion; Follow and up and down pattern
Physical findings of breast cancer
- Irregular in contour
- firm to hard consistency
- not well delineated from surrounding tissue
- nontender
- dimpling
- retraction
- fixation
Breasts during pregnancy
- ducts increase in size and number
- vascular engorgement
- increase in glandular tissue and vascularization
- tissue becomes softer and looser (firmer later on)
- lactation preparation (SD of ribs, vertebra, clavicles may interfere with success)
Breasts post-menopausal
glandular tissue atrophies, fatty replacement of parenchyma
Multiple ducts nipple discharge usually….
Hormonal
Isolated ducts nipple discharge usually…
Local (intraductal papilloma - bloody; mammary duct ectasia - purulent)
Meds that increase prolactin
BCP, Digoxin, antipsychotics, diuretics, steroids
Breast pain
Mastalgia
Breast cancer risk factors
Early menarche, late menopause, age, gender, personal or family hx of breast cancer, nulliparity, late age first birth, hormone therapy, proliferative breast disease, alcohol, etc.
Key principles of spirituality
- Religion and spirituality are important to many of your patients
- When you explore the role of religion and spirituality in patients’ lives, this is usually helpful to them
- When patients make meaning of their medical condition in religious terms, this may have positive as well as negative consequences for their well being
- Clarifying patients’ religious interpretation of their suffering may help you offer additional support and/ or referral to an expert
- Strive to avoid imposing your religious/ spiritual beliefs on your patients, as this is a professional boundary violation
1 imaging of breast
Mammography
Secondary imaging of breast
Ultrasound
Problem-solving or special study imaging of breast
MRI
In what scenario would you might have to use ultrasound or MRI FIRST instead of mammography?
Dense breast tissue
ACS guidelines for screening
- Yearly mammograns starting at age 40 and continuing as long as the woman is in good health
- CBE ~every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40+
- Women at high risk (>20%) should get an MRI and mammogram every year
BIRADS
0 - needs assitional assessment 1 - NML - no further action 2 - benign - no further action 3 - probably benign - 6 month f/u 4 - suspicious - biopsy most of the time 5 - malignant - biopsy 6 - known malignancy
Two categories of mammograms
Screening - no breast complaints, following guidelines
Diagnostic - pt either has symptoms or palpable mass OR abnormal finding on screening mammogram
What is important about screening mammograms?
- CC and MLO views
- comparison of previous exam CRUCIAL (may look awful on exam, but if it’s been there for a while with no change > changes next steps)
- CAD improves accuracy
What should you look out for on mammograms?
- Symmetry/Asymmetry**
- Nodule margins-regular vs irregular**
- Irregular clustered microcalcification**
- Interval nodule development or growth
- Skin thickening or nipple retraction (peau d’orange)
Computer Assisted Diagnosis (CAD)
- Improve accuracy
- Useful in detecting subtle calcifications
- can identify potential abnormalities, but often over calls masses
Signs of cystic lesion on ultrasound
Through transmission, no shadowing, no signs of vascular flow, well-defined border
Signs of solid lesion on ultrasound
No through transmission, shadowing, irregular border, complex
What should be done with signs of a solid lesion on ultrasound?
Biopsy
On mammogram, what are bad signs indicative of a necessary biopsy?
Dense mass, spiculations, calcifications (sometimes)
What imaging modality is commonly used for biopsy?
Ultrasound
When would a biopsy be done?
Palpable mass and/or abnormal mammogram
Stereotactic biopsy
- Used for non-palpable mass
- Guided by imaging (usually ultrasound or mammogram)
- Local anesthetic, needle biopsy, bandaid surgery
Why are clips usually places post-Stereotactic biopsy?
For the radiologist to find again and for physicians to know there was a surgery there in future follow-ups
TNM staging
T - size of primary tumor
N - involvement of lymph nodes
M - presence of distant metastasis
T class
Tx - cannot evaluate Ts - CA in situ; intraductal CA or lobar CA, Paget's of nipple w/o tumor T1 - tumor <2 cm T2 - tumor 2-5 T3 - >5 T4 - extends to chest wall or skin
N class
Nx - cannot assess
N0 - no regional node mets
N1 - mets to ipsilateral axillary nodes, moveable
N2 - mets to ipsilateral axillary nodes, fixed
N3 - mets to ipsilateral internal mammary nodes or beyond
M class
Mx - cannot asses
M0 - no distant mets
M1 - distant mets (including ipsilateral supreclavicular nodes)
What is the most important prognostic variable?
Presence or absence of clinical lymph nodes
Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLN)
- For pts with clinically negative (non-palpable) lymph nodes, a less morbid method of staging
- Consistently identify the migration of tumor cells
Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND)
- Benefit on axilllary recurrence and survival & prognostic value
- Anatomic disruption may cause lymphedema, nerve injury, shoulder dysfunction
- If there is palpable abnormal lymph nodes these may be biopsied more simply
What are other prognostic indicators of poor prognosis?
- Large primary tumor
- Negative ER and PR
- high grade
- high proliferative rate
- certain histologic subtypes
- over-expression of certain oncogenes (esp. HER2)
Metastatic work-up
- Blood tests (esp. compare to THEIR normal)
- Chest X-ray
- bone scan
- If indicated, CT of brain, abdomen
- PET scan for full body
General treatment categories
- Surgery
- Radiation
- Chemo
- Hormone
- Biologic