Diagnosis and Treatment of Invasive Breast Cancer

Diagnosis and Treatment of Invasive Breast Cancer
Stanford Cancer Center

Invasive breast cancer, also known as infiltrating cancer, comes in many forms and stages, and occurs when cancerous cells have spread beyond the ducts or lobules of the breast to other parts of the breast or body. The American Cancer Society estimates that 215,990 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the United States in 2004.

Patients at the Stanford Cancer Center have access to some of the world leaders in breast cancer care, and many cutting-edge technologies and clinical trials. Your cancer team at the Cancer Center can develop a personalized care plan to help you beat cancer.

Staging Invasive Breast Cancer
When breast cancer is invasive, one of the first things you want to know it how far it has spread. Invasive cancer can be:

Locally advanced
Metastatic
Breast cancer is considered locally advanced when it’s invasion is limited to just the breast tissue and the axillary lymph glands, chest wall, and/or skin of the breast. The cancer becomes metastatic when it spreads to distant lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Getting the diagnosis right for your breast cancer is one of the most important steps in ensuring that you receive the best and most appropriate care. Physicians at the Cancer Center use the most advanced technologies available to diagnose and stage your cancer.

Following are some of the types of cancers that Stanford physicians treat every day.

Common Forms of Breast Cancer
Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma
Infiltrating ductal carcinoma is what most women think of when they think of breast cancer. It is the most common form of the disease, accounting for about three-quarter of all breast cancer.

Infiltrating ductal carcioma originates in the milk ducts and then penetrates the duct walls invading the fatty tissue of the breast.

Infiltrating Lobular Carcinoma
Infiltrating lobular carcinoma is the second-most common type of breast cancer, accounting for about ten percent of all breast cancer.

Infliltrating lobular carcinoma originates in the milk-producing glands or lobules of the breasts.

Rare Forms of Breast Cancer
Inflammatory Carcinoma
Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare form of the disease that typically appears without a distinct lump and with symptoms that looks like an infection, such as redness, warmth and swelling.

Medullary Breast Cancer
Medullary breast cancer can look similar to infiltrating ductal carcinoma , but the tumor cells have a distinct look under the microscope.

Medullary breast cancer is more common in women who have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. The genetic counselors at the Cancer Center can help you determine if your medullary breast cancer has a genetic cause.

Other Rare Cancers
Cancers that account for less than three percent of all breast cancers include:

Papillary breast cancers, which very often express estrogen and progesterone receptors.
Tubular breast cancer, which tends to appear as small tumors and only infrequently metastasizes to lymph nodes.
Adenocystic breast cancer
Muucinous or colloid breast cancer

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