Breast cancer is caused by the uncontrolled division and multiplication of cancerous cells due to mutation in cell growth regulation genes.
Generally, there are 4 types of breast cancers:-
Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC): Being most common, begins in the breast milk ducts and invades nearby breast tissue.
Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC): Develops first in the milk-producing glands and then invades into the surrounding breast tissue.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): Cancer cells are confined to the duct and not invaded into the surrounding breast tissue.
Lobular Carcinoma in situ (LCIS): Cancer cells are confined to the milk-producing glands and not invaded into the surrounding breast tissue.
Reason of Having Breast Cancer
The causes of breast cancer are yet to be concluded. But researches have identified several common risk factors in terms of hormonal, lifestyle and environmental aspects:-
- Being female
- Increasing age
- Family history of breast cancer
- Inherited genetic factor
- Frequent exposure to radiation
- Having first child at an older age
- Having never been pregnant
- Postmenopausal hormone therapy
- Alcohol intake: Excessive alcohol intake increases the risk of breast cancer.
Diagnosis of Breast Cancer
- Breast exam: A manual self-examination or performed by a doctor will simply involve running the fingers on both the breasts and the armpit regions to find any lumps.
- Biopsy: It is a definitive way to confirm the diagnosis of breast cancer. A sample of breast cells is extracted using a specialized needle for pathological examination at the lab.
- Imaging techniques: X-ray, ultrasound, positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI) are techniques can be used to identify abnormal cell growth, abnormal cell and abnormal cell activities
Stages of Breast Cancer
Stage of breast cancer
0 DCIS where the cancer is confined to the ducts and has not spread into surrounding tissues
1A Primary tumor is less than 2 cm wherein lymph node is not affected
1B Cancerous cell is found near the lymph node and either there is no tumor in breast of the tumor is less than 2 cm
2A Either the tumor is less than 2 cm and has spread to 1-3 nearby lymph nodes, or it is between 2-5cm and is not yet spread
2B Either the tumor is 2-5cm and has spread to 1-3 axillary (armpit) lymph nodes or it is larger than 5cm and is not yet spread
3A The cancer has spread to 4-6 axillary lymph nodes and the primary tumor can be any size. Tumors can also be greater than 5cm and the cancer might have spread to 1-3 axillary lymph nodes
3B A tumor invasion into the chest wall or skin and may or may not have invaded upto 9 lymph nodes
3C Cancer is found in more than 10 axillary lymph nodes, lymph nodes near collar bone or internal mammary nodes
4 Cancerous tumor is of any size and the cells have spread to nearby and distant lymph nodes as well as distant organs
Treatment of Breast Cancer
- Surgery: Surgery is usually the first type of treatment for breast cancer. Depending on the stage of cancer and the size of tumour, Mastectomy (removing entire breast(s)) or Lumpectomy (removing the tumour and surrounding tissue) will be undergone to remove the cancer tissues.
- Chemotherapy: It involves using cytotoxic medicines to destroy cancerous cells. It usually takes few months to complete the whole treatment session. Side effects like infection, hair loss and sore mouth are commonly found however can be prevented or controlled with medicines.
- Radiotherapy: It involves using controlled doses of high energy radiation to destroy cancerous cells. It usually takes 1–2 months to complete the whole treatment session. Side effects like irritation and darkening of the treatment area and fatigue are commonly found.
- Targeted drugs: It involves using medicines that stop cancer from growing and spreading or change the way cells function, for example trastuzumab is always used in targeted therapy against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancer, the drug works by blocking the cancerous cells growing channel and encouraging immune system to destroy the cancerous cells. Remarkably not all type of breast cancer can be treated with targeted drugs.
- Hormone therapy: Hormone therapy works for hormone receptor positive breast cancers. It involves using hormone drugs to decrease the level of specific hormones (oestrogen or progesterones) or to stop the effect of the same in order to stop the cancer cells from growing.
Prevention of Breast Cancer
Prevention is always better than cure. Although the causes of breast cancer are not fully known today, a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise, balanced diet and without alcohol and cigarette is always recommended to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
- Avoid being obese
- Avoid excessive intake of alcohol
- Perform self-examinations on the breast to find any lumps
- Conduct regular breast screening especially when you are aware of known risk factors. A mammogram is particularly recommended to be performed annually for women over 50 years of age.
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