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Breast cancer usually does not have a hereditary cause. About 5 to 10 percent of all women with breast cancer have the disease due to a hereditary predisposition and are carriers of a change in a gene. There is not just one breast cancer, but many different types. What type of breast cancer you have depends on, among other things, the type of cells, the stage of the cells and how quickly those cells divide. The different types are often treated in different ways.
Also read: What are the symptoms of breast cancer in women?
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Types of breast cancer
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): DCIS forms in the milk ducts of the breast. DCIS is ‘in situ’, meaning it has not grown into surrounding tissue. The cells are still in one place and no metastases occur. DCIS can develop into an invasive tumor that can invade surrounding tissues. This form can therefore be a precursor to breast cancer and must therefore be treated. Without treatment, some of the tumors will become invasive, although it is currently not possible to predict which DCIS will become invasive and which will not. Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS): Like DCIS, LCIS is a precursor to breast cancer. The cancer cells have not penetrated into surrounding tissue. This form can develop into invasive breast cancer. LCIS usually does not cause any complaints and almost never forms small calcifications. That is why LCIS is almost never found during a mammography, but is usually discovered by chance. Invasive lobular carcinoma: About 15 percent of all types of breast cancer is an invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). The cancer cells originate in the lobes of the breast, and through these glands they spread to the surrounding breast tissue. Metastases can also occur to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body. ILC cells are more separated from each other than in an invasive carcinoma NST, so the tumor can often only be felt as swelling of the breast. The tumor is not always clearly visible on a mammography or ultrasound. It is then necessary to perform an MRI scan. Invasive carcinoma NST (formerly invasive ductal carcinoma): This form of breast cancer is the most common. About three in four women with breast cancer have this form. NST stands for: of the Non-Special Type. This type starts in the milk ducts, but the cells continue to grow outside the walls of the milk ducts and can develop further. The tumor can spread to other organs. HER2-positive breast cancer: The HER2 protein is abundant in 10 percent of breast cancers. HER2 is a protein that regulates the growth and division of normal breast cells. In HER2-driven breast cancer, the cells generally divide faster. So it is an aggressive tumor. Targeted therapy can be applied to HER2-positive breast cancer. Hormone-sensitive breast cancer: The female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone can influence the growth and division of a tumor. This type is called hormone-sensitive breast cancer. More than 80 percent of women with an invasive form of breast cancer have hormone-sensitive breast cancer. It is important to know whether the tumor is hormone sensitive. In that case, anti-hormonal therapy is often given as part of the treatment. Triple negative breast cancer: This form of breast cancer is not sensitive to estrogen, progesterone and HER2. It is a fairly aggressive cancer, because it grows quickly and spreads faster than other forms of breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancer is more common in young people and people with a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer: Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare, aggressive form of breast cancer that spreads rapidly throughout the breast. The cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels in the skin of the breast. This causes the lymphatic vessels to become inflamed and the breast tissue to become hard. The breast looks red and swollen and feels warm to the touch. This form of breast cancer is also called inflammatory breast cancer or mastitis carcinomatosa. Rare forms: There are also a number of rare forms of breast cancer, including Paget’s disease, medullary carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, phyllodes tumor and mucinous carcinoma or colloid carcinoma.
Also read: Inflammatory breast cancer: a very aggressive form of breast cancer
Also read: Hereditary breast cancer
Also read: What are the survival rates for breast cancer?
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Last updated: November 2023
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2023-11-16 23:01:55
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