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Incidence
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women over 40 years. Approximately 1
woman in 13 ( nearly 8%) will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Breast cancer
is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of
cancer cells that can grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to
distant areas of the body. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can
get it, too.
Definition of breast cancer: Cancer that forms in tissues of the breast, usually the
ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). It occurs
in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare.
Estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer in the United States in 2012:
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Pathogenesis
Hereditary breast carcinoma
Sites
Affects the left breast slightly more than the right, bilateral in 4% cases.
50% of cases arise in upper outer quadrants of the breast because most of
normal glandular tissue of the breast is located in this area.
20% of central area
30% in the remaining three quadrants
Sites of metastasis
About 20% of women are diagnosed at the very earliest stage (before the cancer has
moved beyond a breast duct or ducts to invade surrounding breast tissue). Another 70%
learn of their cancer while it's still contained within the breast or draining lymph nodes.
Both groups have good prospects of avoiding metastasis altogether.
Only 10% are diagnosed after the cancer has already progressed to distant areas,
which for breast malignancies typically includes the bones, lungs, liver or brain.
Metastatic cancer typically develops (if at all) within 3 years of the initial cancer
treatment, often invading lymph nodes near the breast -- located in the armpit and chest
wall -- before traveling to farther sites. But again, much depends on the grade and
aggressiveness of each individual tumor, with some carrying much higher recurrence
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rates. About a quarter of all metastases first appear in the bones. The lungs (at about
20%), liver and brain (the latter two accounting for about 15% each) are next most
common sites for cancer spread.
Metastasis may cause symptoms in the area where the cancer has newly appeared.
Bone metastases (the most common type) can produce bone pain; lung metastases can
produce coughing or shortness of breath; and liver metastases can produce depressed
appetite and weight loss. A brain metastasis may cause neurological symptoms, such
as headaches, blurry vision or a feeling of weakness.
Ways of spread
Breast cancer spreads in three different ways -- through the lymph system, which is the
most common; through the blood; or through tissue, as when a tumor grows into, or
invades, surrounding normal cells. If another tumor forms elsewhere in the body through
metastasis, it's the same kind of cancer as the original tumor. A new tumor in the lung,
for instance, is considered metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer. However, these
metastasized tumors tend to be more aggressive than the original breast tumor.
References
http://www.breastcancer.org/
http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/default.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/breast_cancer/article.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001911/
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/index
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