Breast cancer is among the most prevalent types of cancer in women. It occurs when the cells in one or both breasts multiply uncontrollably and form tumors. Those cells can spread outside of the breasts to other parts of the body. This is known as metastatic breast cancer.
Breast cancer most commonly affects women over the age of 50; however, it can also affect those younger than 50. Men can also develop breast cancer.
Types of Breast Cancer
Invasive and noninvasive are the two primary categories of breast cancer.
Invasive cancer spreads from the breast ducts or glands to other areas of the breast, whereas noninvasive cancer does not spread from the initial tissue.
The following are the types of breast cancer.
Types of Noninvasive Breast Cancer
Noninvasive breast cancer (also known as breast cancer in situ) means the cancer cells stay where they started and have not spread into nearby breast tissue. It is the earliest and most treatable stage.
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)
DCIS is a noninvasive breast cancer that starts inside the milk ducts (small tubes in the breast that carry milk to the nipple). The cancer cells haven’t spread beyond the ducts into the surrounding breast tissue. It is sometimes called stage 0 breast cancer and is highly treatable when caught early. While not life-threatening, DCIS can become invasive if left untreated.
Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)
LCIS is another noninvasive condition in which cancer cells grow in the lobules, the small milk-producing glands of the breast. It does not spread or form a lump, but it can increase the risk of developing breast cancer in the future.
Types of Invasive Breast Cancer
Invasive breast cancer means the cancer cells have spread beyond where they started (the ducts or lobules) into nearby breast tissue, and sometimes, they can spread to other parts of the body.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC)
It is the most common type of breast cancer. It starts in the milk ducts of your breast and spreads to the surrounding breast tissue. Breast cancer can start spreading to other surrounding organs and tissues after it has reached the region outside the milk ducts.
Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC)
ILC begins in the lobules (milk-producing glands) and moves into nearby breast tissue. It may be more difficult to detect via a mammogram, but it typically grows and spreads slowly.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)
IBC is a rare and aggressive invasive cancer. Instead of forming a lump, it causes redness, swelling, and warmth in the breast because cancer blocks lymph vessels (tiny vessels that carry fluid that help fight infections). It needs urgent treatment.
Paget Disease of the Nipple
This breast cancer originates in the ducts of the nipple. As it advances, it extends to the skin and areola of the nipple.
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)
It is an invasive and often aggressive type that lacks the three main hormone or protein markers doctors usually test for. It spreads more quickly than some other types, but can be treated with chemotherapy and new targeted drugs.
Angiosarcoma
It is a type of breast cancer that develops in the lymphatic or blood vessels.
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer can affect your breasts in a variety of ways. Some symptoms are very distinctive. Other parts of your breast can appear different from the rest. Moreover, breast cancer may not exhibit any signs at all. But when it does, the following symptoms could manifest:
- A change in the breast’s size, shape, or contour.
- A lump or mass that could feel as tiny as a pea.
- A lump or thickening in your underarm or around your breast that remains during your menstrual cycle.
- A marble-like firm region beneath your skin.
- A clear or blood-stained fluid discharge from your nipple.
- A change in the appearance or texture of the skin on your breast or nipple. Your skin may appear scaly, puckered, dimpled, inflamed, or like an orange peel. It may appear red, purple, or darker than other areas of your breast.
- A nipple that turns inward or looks flattened.
Causes and Risk Factors of Breast Cancer
The specific cause of the majority of breast cancers remains unknown. However, certain factors, including lifestyle choices, hormones, and environmental factors, increase your risk of developing it. It is unclear why some individuals with risk factors never develop cancer while others with no risk factors do. Breast cancer most likely originates from a complex connection between your environment and genetic composition.
Risk factors
Several risk factors can raise your risk of developing breast cancer. However, having any of these conditions does not guarantee that you will have it.
The following factors may increase your risk of breast cancer.
A Family History of Breast Cancer
You are more likely to develop breast cancer if a parent, sibling, or child has the disease. A family history of early-onset breast cancer increases your risk. Having several family members with breast cancer also raises your risk. However, most individuals who receive a breast cancer diagnosis do not have a family history of the condition.
A Personal History of Breast Cancer and Conditions
Your chances of developing cancer in the other breast are higher if you have already had cancer in one.
Certain breast conditions also indicate an increased risk of cancer. Among these are atypical breast hyperplasia (abnormal breast cell growth) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). You are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer if a breast biopsy revealed one of these conditions.
Being Female
Everyone is born with breast tissue, which means that anyone can develop breast cancer. However, the risk of breast cancer is significantly higher in women than in men.
Increasing Age
As you age, your chance of developing breast cancer increases. The risk is higher in women over 50 than in younger women.
Dense Breast Tissue
Dense breast tissue means your breasts have less fat and more firm tissue. It is normal and common, but it can make it more difficult to detect lumps on a mammogram. Women with dense breasts may also have a higher chance of getting breast cancer. In addition to mammograms, your healthcare team may recommend other tests to check for breast cancer.
Inherited DNA Changes that Increase Cancer Risk
Children can inherit some DNA changes from their parents that raise their risk of developing breast cancer. The changes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are the most well-known. Although not everyone with these DNA alterations develops cancer, they can significantly raise your chance of developing breast cancer and other malignancies.
Menstrual History
Your menstrual history can also affect your risk of breast cancer. Starting your period before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55 can increase your risk of breast cancer. It is because of prolonged exposure to hormones like estrogen, which can impact how the breast develops over time.
Reproductive History
Certain reproductive factors can increase the risk of breast cancer. Women who have their first child after age 30, have never been pregnant, or do not breastfeed may have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. That’s because these factors can lead to prolonged exposure to hormones like estrogen, which can impact how breast cells develop over time.
Taking Hormones
Breast cancer risk may increase if you take some hormone therapy medications to manage menopausal symptoms. The risk is associated with hormone therapy medications that mix estrogen and progesterone. The risk decreases when you discontinue using these medications.
Using certain types of birth control that contain hormones, such as pills, shots, implants, vaginal rings, skin patches, or hormonal IUDs, may also increase the risk of breast cancer.
Radiation Exposure
If you had radiation treatments to your chest as a kid or young adult, you are more at risk of developing breast cancer.
Obesity
People who are obese are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Diagnosis
If you feel a lump or something appears on a mammogram, your doctor will start the breast cancer diagnosis procedure.
They will inquire about your medical history, both personal and family history. After that, they will perform a breast exam and prescribe the following tests:
Imaging Tests
The doctor will carry out imaging tests to learn more about your breast.
Ultrasound:
It uses sound waves to make an image of your breast.
Mammogram:
This comprehensive X-ray helps physicians see lumps and other issues more clearly.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI):
An MRI scan uses strong magnets and a computer to create detailed pictures of the inside of your breasts.
Biopsy
Your physician may perform a test known as a breast biopsy if examinations such as an ultrasound or mammogram raise suspicions of breast cancer. During this procedure, the doctor takes a tissue sample from the suspected area and tests it in a laboratory. If the sample tests positive for cancer, the lab can perform additional tests to determine the kind of breast cancer.
Blood Tests
Your doctor might prescribe the following blood tests.
This test quantifies the various cell types in your blood like red and white blood cells. It informs your physician about the health of your bone marrow.
Blood Chemistry:
This test helps doctors assess the functioning of organs, such as the liver and kidneys. It can sometimes indicate if cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Hepatitis Test:
Doctors occasionally do these tests to screen for hepatitis B and hepatitis C. You might require medicine to combat an active hepatitis B infection before receiving chemotherapy. Without it, chemotherapy can cause the virus to spread and harm your liver.
Stages of Breast Cancer
Cancer staging systems help healthcare providers plan treatment. Staging cancer also assists clinicians in determining a prognosis, or what to expect after treatment. The type of breast cancer, the size and location of the tumor, and whether the disease has progressed to other parts of your body are all factors that affect breast cancer staging. The stages of breast cancer are:
- Stage 0: The condition is noninvasive, which means it has not reached other areas of your breast from your breast ducts.
- Stage I: The cancer is 2 centimeters or less in size and may or may not have spread to the nearby tissues.
- Stage II: Cancerous cells have created a tumor or tumors. Either the tumor is less than 2 centimeters and has spread to lymph nodes under the arms, or it is more than 5 centimeters but has spread to underarm lymph nodes. At this stage, tumors may or may not impact the surrounding lymph nodes and range in size from 2 to 5 cm across.
- Stage III: This stage is sometimes called locally advanced breast cancer. The cancer has spread to several lymph nodes or nearby tissues like the chest wall or skin.
- Stage IV: This stage is also known as metastatic breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver, lungs, or brain. It is not curable, but treatment can control the disease and improve the quality of life.
Treatment of Breast Cancer
The stage of breast cancer, the extent to which it has spread (if it has), and the size of the tumor all have a role in deciding the type of treatment required.
The doctor will first assess the size, stage, and grade of your cancer. The grade of cancer helps doctors understand how quickly the cancer might grow or spread. After that, you can talk about your treatment options.
The most common treatment for breast cancer is surgery. Numerous patients receive additional treatments, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or hormone therapy.
Surgery
Breast-Conserving Surgery
- Lumpectomy: This surgery removes the tumor and some nearby tissues while keeping the remainder of the breast intact.
Surgery to Remove Lymph Nodes
Your doctor may take the lymph nodes beneath your arm to determine whether the cancer has progressed to them. It has the following two types:
- Sentinel Node Biopsy: This procedure removes some of the lymph nodes that receive drainage from the tumor, which are then tested. You might not require further surgery to remove more lymph nodes if they are cancer-free.
- Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: If a sentinel node biopsy reveals cancer cells in the removed lymph nodes, the doctor may remove more lymph nodes.
Removal of One or Both Breasts
Sometimes, treatment may involve removing one or both breasts through a surgery called a mastectomy. This treatment is performed when the cancer is large, has spread, or when there is a high risk of recurrence. Some people also choose to have both breasts removed to lower future risk.
The following are the types of mastectomy:
- Simple or Total Mastectomy: This surgery involves the removal of your entire breast, but not the lymph nodes under your arm, unless they are within breast tissue.
- Modified Radical Mastectomy: During this procedure, the surgeon will remove your entire breast as well as the lymph nodes under your arm.
- Radical Mastectomy: In this procedure, the surgeon removes the entire breast, lymph nodes under your arm and up to your collarbone, and the chest wall muscles beneath your breast.
- Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy: The surgeon leaves your nipple intact but removes all of the breast tissue.
- Partial Mastectomy: The surgeon removes the cancerous breast tissue as well as some surrounding tissue, which is typically more than a lumpectomy.
- Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy: Some women choose to have this surgery to have both breasts removed, even when they only have cancer in one breast. The procedure removes your healthy breast, lowering your chances of developing breast cancer again.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy targets and destroys cancer cells using powerful radiation beams. It may be administered during or after surgery. Radiation is most frequently needed after a lumpectomy, but some patients may need it after a mastectomy.
This therapy involves administering regulated amounts of radiation to the tumor, which kills any remaining cancer cells.
There are two main types of radiation used to treat breast cancer. External beam radiation uses a machine outside the body to aim powerful X-rays at the breast, destroying cancer cells. Internal radiation therapy, known as brachytherapy, involves placing tiny radioactive sources inside or near the tumor for a brief period. This method directly targets cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a drug therapy that kills cancer cells. Some patients may only receive chemotherapy, although this sort of treatment is frequently used in conjunction with other treatments, particularly surgery.
If there is a significant chance of recurrence or spread, a doctor may prescribe chemotherapy. The term adjuvant chemotherapy refers to chemotherapy given after surgery.
Before surgery, a doctor might suggest chemotherapy to reduce the tumor’s size and facilitate its removal. This process is known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Hormone Therapy
Certain hormones can cause some tumors to grow. Hormone therapy helps treat breast cancers that depend on hormones like estrogen or progesterone to grow.
It works by blocking these hormones or lowering their levels in the body, which helps stop or slow the growth of cancer cells. This treatment is often given after surgery to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.
Can Breast Cancer be Prevented?
You might not be able to prevent breast cancer. However, you can lower your chance of getting it. Regular mammograms and self-examinations are equally important since they can help identify breast cancer early on, when treatment is easier.
How Can You Lower the Risk?
Although there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, there are things you can do that might lower your risk [1]:
Achieve and maintain a healthy weight. This is the ideal weight for you. Consult your doctor for guidance on starting a healthy weight management program.
Eat a healthy diet. According to research, eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, dairy products high in calcium, and lean protein may lower your chance of developing breast cancer [2]. Additionally, avoiding processed and red meat may reduce your risk.
Engage in regular physical activity. Some studies indicate that regular exercise lowers the risk of breast cancer [3].
Get screened. Mammograms frequently find cancers that are too tiny to be felt.
Do self-examination regularly. Regularly examining your breasts can help you detect breast cancer tumors and maintain breast health.
Some women are more susceptible to breast cancer because they inherited a genetic mutation or have family members who have the disease. If that’s the case, you might want to consider the following:
- Genetic screening for breast cancer genes
- Medications that lower breast cancer risk
- Prophylactic (preventive) mastectomy
- Regular breast cancer screenings and physical examinations
If you are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer, ask your doctor if you should have additional testing, especially if you are under the age of 40.
Key Takeaways
Breast cancer can affect anyone, but understanding it can make a big difference. There are different types, ranging from non-invasive (like DCIS) to invasive and metastatic forms. It develops when breast cells grow abnormally, often due to a mix of genetic, hormonal, and lifestyle factors. Common risk factors include age, family history, dense breast tissue, and long-term hormone exposure. Treatment options such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted drugs depend on the type and stage of cancer. While breast cancer can’t always be prevented, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, staying active, eating a balanced diet, and getting regular screenings can help lower your risk and improve early detection.
Chughtai Lab – Your Partner in Breast Health
At Chughtai Lab, we are committed to supporting women in the early detection and management of breast cancer. Our state-of-the-art diagnostic services include mammogram and breast ultrasound, which help detect even the slightest changes in breast tissue, often before symptoms appear. With advanced imaging technology and expert radiologists, we ensure accurate, safe, and timely results to guide further evaluation and treatment.
Our Chughtai Breast Clinic provides a complete care experience under one roof. From screening and diagnosis to consultation and follow-up, our female specialists offer compassionate, confidential, and personalized care for every woman.
To further promote women’s wellness, Chughtai Lab offers Pink Card, an exclusive membership designed to cater to women’s health needs. The Pink Card provides special benefits and discounts on lab tests, imaging services, and health packages, making preventive care more accessible and affordable for all women.
