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Breast Cancer
Printer FriendlyTypes of breast cancers
| Cancer type | Description |
| Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) | Most common type of noninvasive breast cancer. Cancer cells are inside the ducts, but have not spread to surrounding tissue. This is such an early stage breast cancer that some experts consider it to be a precancerous condition. Almost all women diagnosed at this stage can be cured; however, if it is left untreated, it can develop into invasive breast cancer. |
| Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) | Abnormal cells are in a lobule of your breast, but have not spread to surrounding tissue. LCIS is not considered to be cancer, but signals that you are at increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer in the future. |
| Infiltrating (invasive) ductal carcinoma | Most common type of invasive breast cancer. It starts in a milk duct and spreads to surrounding tissue or to other parts of your body. |
| Recurrent breast cancer | Cancer that comes back after you have been treated. It may recur locally (in the breast or chest wall) or in any other part of the body (such as bone, liver or lungs). |
Some breast cancers are neither ductal nor lobular carcinomas. These are much less common.
| Cancer type | Description |
| Inflammatory breast cancer | The breast is red, swollen, thickened and pitted, because cancer cells block drainage from the lymph vessels. |
| Medullary carcinoma | An invasive cancer that has a distinct boundary between tumor tissue and normal tissue. The cancer cells are large and immune system cells are present around the border of the tumor. |
| Mucinous carcinoma | An invasive cancer in which the cancer cells produce mucus and grow into a jelly-like tumor. The prognosis for this type of cancer is better than for other invasive breast cancers. |
| Paget’s disease | A rare cancer that starts in a milk duct and spreads to the skin of the nipple and areola, the dark circle around the nipple. If no lump is found in the breast tissue and biopsy shows no invasive cancer, the prognosis is very good. |
| Recurrent breast cancer | Cancer that comes back after you have been treated. It may recur locally (in the breast or chest wall) or in any other part of the body (such as bone, liver or lungs). |
For more information on types of breast cancers, call Jane Brattain Breast Center at 952-993-3700.
