Breast Cancer
By Eric Lee & Rikki Haberny
What is Breast Cancer?
An abnormal, uncontrolled cell growth arising in
the breast tissue
Breast cancer primarily effects women but about
1 percent of all cases effect men
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of
death in women next to lung cancer
One out of nine women in the US will develop
breast cancer in their lifetime
One out of twenty in 1960
Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Rare, serious, aggressive
form of breast cancer
Looks red (erythema),
feels warm
Thickening of skin
Ridges, welts and hives
may be observed
Skin may look wrinkled
Sometimes misdiagnosed
as infection
Causes and Risks
Personal or family Age
history Late menopause
Not having children Diets high in saturated
Having first child after fat
age 30 Your sex
Radiation therapy to Estrogen replacement
chest/upper body therapy
Overweight or obese
Causes and Risks
Shields
Being older at first menstration and having an
earlier menopause lowers risk
Having children before the age of 30 helps.
Having no children increases risk.
Physically active women may have a lower
risk.
Preemptive mastectomy
Symptoms
Early breast cancer has little or no symptoms. It is not
painful.
Breast discharge, especially if only from one breast or
bloody
Sunken nipple, Though a common variant of normal
nipples a new development should cause concern
Redness, changes in texture, and puckering. Usually
caused by skin disease but sometimes can be
associated with breast cancer.
Lumps on or around breast. Most lumps are not
cancerous
Other lumps around the under arm or collarbone
which dont go away
Metastasis
The most common place for breast cancer
to metastasize is into the lymph nodes
under the arm or above the collarbone on
the same side as the cancer.
Brain
Bones
Liver
Early detection
Early detection is the key!
Self/Doctor examinations
Mammography
Ultrasound
MRI
Biopsy
Self VS Mammography VS Ultrasound VS
MRI VS Biopsy
Early detection
Breast self/doctor examination
includes visual inspection and
careful feeling of the breasts, the
armpits, and the areas around the
collarbone.
Looking for lumps or abnormalities
around the breast.
Most lumps are NOT cancerous
Best time for examination is
immediately after the monthly
period
Not 100% accurate
Early detection
Mammography
X-ray picture of the
breast taken from
several angles by
compressing the
breast horizontally,
diagonally, and
sometimes vertically.
Not 100% accurate
Mammography images
Early detection
Ultrasound
Usually done in addition to the
mammogram.
Shows whether a mass is
filled with fluid or solid.
Cancers are solid.
Not 100% accurate
Early detection
MRI
Magnetic resonance
imaging.
Differentiates diseased
or dying tissue from
normal healthy tissue
Almost 100% accurate
Early detection
Biopsy
take a very small
piece of tissue from
the body for
examination and
testing.
examined by a
pathologist
100% accurate
Early detection
The stages 0-IV
Stage 0 is noninvasive breast cancer, that is, carcinoma in
situ with no affected lymph nodes or metastasis. This is the
most favorable stage to find breast cancer.
Stage I is breast cancer that is less than three quarters of an
inch in diameter and has not spread from the breast.
Stage II is breast cancer that is fairly small in size but has
spread to lymph nodes in the armpit OR cancer that is
somewhat larger but has not spread to the lymph nodes.
Early detection
The stages 0-IV
Stage III is breast cancer of a larger size (greater
than 2 inches in diameter), with greater lymph node
involvement, or of the inflammatory type.
Spreading to other areas around the breast.
Stage IV is metastatic breast cancer: a tumor of any
size or type that has metastasized to another part of
the body (ex. bones, lungs, liver, brain). This is the
least favorable stage to find breast cancer.
Treatment
Radiation
Chemotherapy
Vaccines
Surgery
Hormonal therapy
Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) is the most commonly
prescribed hormone treatment.
Lumpectomy
Simple Mastectomy
Modified Radical
Radical
Conclusion
The biggest risks for breast cancer are age, sex,
and genetics
Second highest cancer killer in women
Rates of new cases have slowed
BRCA1/BRCA2 only effect 5% of cases
Several early detection techniques and devices
Vaccines show promise but are not a solution
Surgery helps prevent reoccurrence.
References
Campiglio. M, S. Menard, S. M. Pupa, and E. Tagliabue. 2003.
Biologic and therapeutic role of HER2 in cancer. Oncogene. 22(42):
6570-6578.
Love, R. R. 2002. Breast Cancer Prevention. The Oncologist. 7(2):
100-102.
Phase I Clinical Trial of Breast Cancer Vaccine.
[Link]
American Cancer Society [Link]
Herceptin Drug Information [Link]
National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations [Link]
National Breast Cancer Coalition [Link]
National Breast Cancer Foundation [Link]
National Cancer Institute [Link]
OncoLink [Link]