Breast cancer is not related to age, social background or gender. Pathology can occur in every person. However, in percentage terms, the proportion of men among patients is negligible. There are different forms of breast cancer. In this article, we will dwell on an invasive variant of pathology.
Female breast structure
To better understand the pathogenesis of the disease, it is necessary to understand the anatomy of the breast. In its structure, it is customary to distinguish the following parts:
- fat;
- connective tissue;
- milk glands;
- ducts;
- lobes of the mammary glands.
Another important part of the breast is lymphadenitis. They capture cancerous elements and harmful microorganisms, performing a protective function.
Pregnancy promotes enhanced milk production in the glands. Then it flows from the nipples along the ducts. Certain types of malignant neoplasms of the gland begin to develop, affecting several chest ducts. These include invasive cancer.
Disease Description
Invasive breast cancer is a serious cancer disease. It is characterized by the spread of the tumor into adipose or connective tissues. Invasion is understood as the ability of malignant elements to separate from the primary focus and quickly affect surrounding organs. This is one of the conditions for tumor metastasis. The tactics of treatment depend on the invasiveness or noninvasiveness of the neoplasm.
With this disease, cancer cells rapidly infect nearby lymph nodes. In advanced stages, their activity extends to the spinal cord, liver and kidneys. If malignant elements are found outside the mammary glands, this type of pathology is called metastatic breast cancer.
Main reasons
Invasive breast cancer progresses slowly. Pretumor diseases, such as mastopathy, may precede its onset. Consider in more detail the main causes of pathology.
- Mastopathy The disease develops against the background of an imbalance of hormones in the body. Most often diagnosed in women under 40 years of age. Mastopathy is characterized by severe pain, discharge from the nipples. Tumor-like nodules form in the chest, which leads to changes in the tissues of the organ and cancer.
- Fibroadenomas. This pathology mainly develops in young girls. Nodular formations of a benign nature appear in the chest. As a result of injuries, lack of treatment or hormonal failure, they begin to increase in size, affecting healthy tissues.
- Abortion Surgical manipulations not only interrupt pregnancy, but can provoke the reverse development of glandular tissues. As a result, seals are formed from which cancer develops.
- Lactation. Refusal from breastfeeding is another cause of invasive cancer.
- Lack of intimacy. Irregular sex life upsets the hormonal balance in the body, which negatively affects the condition of the mammary glands.
Clinical manifestations of the disease
No one can be insured against breast cancer. According to statistics, every ninth representative of the fair sex suffers from the manifestations of this ailment. According to doctors, patients can be several times more. More than a million women are unaware of the presence of a tumor. In the early stages, the pathology is almost asymptomatic, and it can be diagnosed only with the help of a comprehensive examination. Unfortunately, the appearance of the first signs often means that the disease has moved to a new stage of development. What symptoms indicate invasive breast cancer?
- Skin discoloration of the nipple.
- The appearance of a small lump or lump in the chest area.
- A change in the size and shape of the breast.
- Bloody discharge from the nipples, causing burning and discomfort.
If such symptoms are present, you should immediately consult a doctor to identify the causes.
Forms of the disease
The medical literature describes several variants of pathologies, which are invasive breast cancer. These diseases include:
- Preinvasive cancer. The neoplasm does not extend to neighboring organs, but remains in the milky ducts.
- Lobular cancer. The disease is diagnosed extremely rarely (in 15% of cases). The neoplasm develops in the lobules and ducts of the glands, can metastasize to neighboring tissues. The main symptom of the pathology is chest pain during palpation.
- Invasive ductal carcinoma. A neoplasm is formed in the milk ducts. Malignant cells gradually multiply in adipose tissue, but quickly metastasize to other organs. Ductal cancer is considered the most common form of invasive breast lesion (about 80% of cases among all cancers).
Diagnostic Methods
Diagnosis of the disease usually begins with self-examination. The structure of the female breast allows to identify seals during palpation. Change in the skin, the shape of the nipple and other symptoms indicating the severity of the pathology can also be detected independently. If you suspect a disease, you must consult a doctor. The specialist must conduct a physical examination and schedule an additional examination. Usually, mammography, ultrasound of the mammary glands and MRI are used for diagnosis. If neoplasms are detected, a biopsy is performed. The resulting samples are then sent for analysis to the laboratory. The results of the study allow us to determine the hormonal status of the tumor, its features.
Separately, it is necessary to talk about when and why to donate blood to tumor markers. This analysis is used to diagnose the disease, and then to monitor the treatment. Oncomarkers are macromolecules that are synthesized in a woman's body in response to the activity of cancer elements. When their level exceeds the norm, we can talk about the presence of a pathological process, but not always. In some cases, an increase in the number of macromolecules in the blood indicates an allergy, benign formation, or inflammation. If invasive cancer is suspected, the concentration of the following tumor markers should be checked : CA 15-3, CA 27-29, HER2. To obtain reliable results on the eve of the test, you should relax, do not take alcohol. Blood is donated to tumor markers from a vein. The decoding of the results is done by the doctor in the laboratory.
Therapy options
There are several methods to combat invasive cancer: surgery, chemo and radiation, biological, hormonal therapy. Complex treatment is usually used. First, the doctor removes the neoplasm. Then the patient is prescribed radiation therapy. It allows you to increase the effectiveness of the treatment by 70%. Irradiation is necessarily indicated for patients whose tumor size exceeds 5 cm. Chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biological therapy are used as systemic methods of fighting cancer. If progesterone or estrogen receptors are detected in the tissues of the gland, hormonal treatment is used. In the absence of these elements, chemotherapy is prescribed.
Prognosis for recovery
The prognosis for this disease depends on the results of the therapy. Invasive damage to the mammary glands is characterized by a high percentage of deaths. Therefore, in many states, screening programs are beginning to be introduced that can detect oncology in the early stages. There are four of them. Invasive breast cancer of the 2nd degree or 1st, diagnosed in a timely manner, in 90% of cases ends in recovery. Positive dynamics is possible only with proper treatment. Survival in grade 3 oncology is 47%, and in grade 4, about 16%. In the later stages, invasive breast cancer is difficult to treat. The prognosis is significantly worsened with the appearance of metastases.