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Every Type of Breast Cancer, Explained

When it comes to figuring out the type of breast cancer and how to treat it, there are usually three factors to consider, says Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and co-director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center. “Is it invasive? And is it hormone receptor positive or HER2 positive? Once you have those three factors together, you can figure out how to treat it,” he explains.

Most breast cancers are carcinomas, which means they start in cells that line organs and tissues throughout the body, according to the American Cancer Society. Breast cancers tend to fall into two categories: “in situ,” which means it hasn’t spread to surrounding…

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 Beyond October: Things to be aware of all year about breast cancer

Breast cancer is an umbrella term for different types of malignant tumors that arise in the breast. Each tumor may have its own distinct tissue structure, genetics and prognosis. Therefore, researchers aren’t looking for a “silver bullet” that will cure all breast cancers. Rather, researchers search for ways to identify the specific type of tumor a patient has and to tailor treatments to that diagnosis. To do so, a better understanding of the complexity of breast cancer based on genetic makeup of a particular person’s disease is required. Tumors from different patients differ from each other in pathological features and molecular signature. This is called intertumor heterogeneity.

 Breast Cancer By A New Name: Redefining Disease For Better Patient Outcomes

About 80% of breast cancers are estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) and 65% are both estrogen and progesterone receptor-positive (ER/PR+, also called hormonal receptor-positive, HR+). By analyzing a sample of cancer cells, pathologists can see whether a patient’s tumor has receptors for estrogen or progesterone. Hormonal therapy to block estrogen and progesterone in HR+ patients can quell the growth and return of cancer and reduce tumor size.

 Molecular subtypes of breast cancer

Breast cancer has four primary molecular subtypes, defined in large part by hormone receptors (HR) and other types of proteins involved (or not involved) in each cancer...

 Understanding genetic differences between breast cancer tumors is key to better treatment

Breast cancer is not a single disease. It is in fact, a collection of genetic changes that all lead to the same outcome: a tumor in the breast.

Articles of Interest

A Beginner’s Breakdown of the Different Types of Breast Cancer

If you or a loved one is battling breast cancer, knowing all the different forms the disease can take is key to understanding a prognosis and what treatment options are available.

Biological subtypes of breast cancer: Prognostic and therapeutic implications

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with many subtypes that have different treatment responses and clinical outcomes.

Breast cancer molecular types

Breast cancer has four primary molecular subtypes, defined in large part by hormone receptors (HR) and other types of proteins involved (or not involved) in each cancer...

Genetic differences in breast tumors may contribute to racial disparities

Clinicians know the odds tend to be stacked against Black breast cancer patients. They have more dangerous and aggressive subtypes of breast cancer more frequently than white patients. Within breast cancer subtypes, Black patients tend to have worse outcomes compared to white patients, too. But what biological factors contribute to these disparities — and how much — is an open question.

How Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Has Evolved

"We understand much more what's happening at a molecular level" than we did 15 to 20 years ago.

Study Divides Breast Cancer Into Four Distinct Types

These discoveries, published online on Sunday in the journal Nature, are expected to lead to new treatments with drugs already approved for cancers in other parts of the body and new ideas for more precise treatments aimed at genetic aberrations that now have no known treatment.

Tumor Test Helps Identify Which Breast Cancers Don't Require Extra Treatment

Researchers in the U.S. and Sweden used a diagnostic test called MammaPrint to measure a tumor's genomic "fingerprint" and compared it with survival time after a tumor was removed. They say they were able to pinpoint patients who had a very low risk of death from breast cancer — even up to 20 years after the first diagnosis.

We really need to rethink how we diagnose and treat breast cancer

This new data should prompt discussions about how we deal with stage 0 breast cancer going forward. "In the future," Welch added, "we may treat it as [a risk factor]. But now we treat it like cancer."

Resources

Breast Cancer 101

Though every woman with breast cancer has a unique experience, researchers have identified major types of breast cancer to help us better understand the disease.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer

The two main types of breast cancer are in situ carcinoma (also called noninvasive cancer) and invasive cancer. Ductal carcinoma in situ, also called DCIS or intraductal carcinoma, is the only form of in situ breast cancer. DCIS is stage 0, meaning the cancer remains in the area where it began. The cancer will be tested for receptors to the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This can help your care team decide whether hormonal therapy would help reduce the risk of developing invasive breast cancer in the future. Invasive breast cancers can be classified even further depending on specific features identified by pathology testing...

Breast Cancer Network Australia

Breast cancer is not one disease. There are different types and subtypes of disease that are referred to as breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Now

Breast cancer can be non-invasive (also called ‘in-situ’) or invasive.

CancerCenter.com

Breast cancer occurs in two broad categories: invasive and noninvasive. Some are slow-growing, while others are more aggressive. A number of factors influence how aggressive a tumor is, including its biological makeup, size, stage, etc. But generally speaking, the most aggressive types of breast cancer tend to be inflammatory breast cancer and angiosarcoma of the breast, while ductal carcinoma in situ, lobular carcinoma in situ and phyllodes tumors tend to be more slow-growing.

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Breast cancers can be divided into two main overarching groups: the carcinomas and the sarcomas. Carcinomas are cancers that arise from the epithelial component of the breast. The epithelial component consists of the cells that line the lobules and terminal ducts; under normal conditions, these epithelial cells are responsible for making milk. Carcinomas comprise the vast majority of all breast cancers.

National Breast Cancer Foundation

There are many different types of breast cancer. Tumours can be non-invasive or invasive. Non-invasive breast cancer is contained inside the milk ducts or lobules. Invasive breast cancer means that the cancer has spread beyond the ducts/lobules into the surrounding tissues.

Radiology Assistant

80% of DCIS is diagnosed on mammography alone on the basis of microcalcifications (figure), followed by vacuum-assisted biopsy. Very few cases of DCIS present as a palpable mass.