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 2009:
New cases: 192,370 (female); 1,910 (male)
Deaths: 40,170 (female); 440 (male)
Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.
The breast is made up of lobes and ducts. Each breast has 15 to 20 sections called lobes, which have many smaller sections called lobules. Lobules end in dozens of tiny bulbs that can produce milk. The lobes, lobules, and bulbs are linked by thin tubes called ducts.
Anatomy of the breast, showing lymph nodes and lymph vessels.
Each breast also has blood vessels and lymph vessels. The lymph vessels carry an almost colorless fluid called lymph. Lymph vessels lead to organs called lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body. They filter substances in a fluid called lymph and help fight infection and disease. Clusters of lymph nodes are found near the breast in the axilla (under the arm), above the collarbone, and in the chest.
The most common type of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the cells of the ducts. Cancer that begins in the lobes or lobules is called lobular carcinoma and is more often found in both breasts than are other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer in which the breast is warm, red, and swollen.
Age and health history can affect the risk of developing breast cancer.
Anything that increases your chance of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Risk factors for breast cancer include the following:
* Older age.
* Menstruating at an early age.
* Older age at first birth or never having given birth.
* A personal history of breast cancer or benign (noncancer) breast disease.
* A mother or sister with breast cancer.
* Treatment with radiation therapy to the breast/chest.
* Breast tissue that is dense on a mammogram.
* Taking hormones such as estrogen and progesterone.
* Drinking alcoholic beverages.
* Being white.
NCI's Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool uses a woman's risk factors to estimate her risk for breast cancer during the next five years and up to age 90. This online tool is meant to be used by a health care provider. For more information on breast cancer risk, see Estimating Breast Cancer Risk: Questions and Answers or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
Breast cancer is sometimes caused by inherited gene mutations (changes).
The genes in cells carry the hereditary information that is received from a person's parents. Hereditary breast cancer makes up approximately 5% to 10% of all breast cancer. Some altered genes related to breast cancer are more common in certain ethnic groups.
Women who have an altered gene related to breast cancer and who have had breast cancer in one breast have an increased risk of developing breast cancer in the other breast. These women also have an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer, and may have an increased risk of developing other cancers. Men who have an altered gene related to breast cancer also have an increased risk of developing this disease. For more information, see the PDQ summary on Male Breast Cancer Treatment.
Tests have been developed that can detect altered genes. These genetic tests are sometimes done for members of families with a high risk of cancer. See the following PDQ summaries for more information:
* Breast Cancer Screening
* Breast Cancer Prevention
* Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Tests that examine the breasts are used to detect (find) and diagnose breast cancer.
A doctor should be seen if changes in the breast are noticed. The following tests and procedures may be used:
* Mammogram: An x-ray of the breast.
Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on the following:
* The stage of the cancer (the size of the tumor and whether it is in the breast only or has spread to lymph nodes or other places in the body).
* The type of breast cancer.
* Estrogen-receptor and progesterone-receptor levels in the tumor tissue.
* Whether the cells have high levels of human epidermal growth factor type 2 receptors (HER2/neu).
* How fast the tumor is growing.
* A woman's age, general health, and menopausal status (whether a woman is still having menstrual periods).
* Whether the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred (come back).
Breast Cancer Treatment and Pregnancy:
* Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.
* Breast cancer is sometimes detected (found) in women who are pregnant or have just given birth.
* It may be difficult to detect (find) breast cancer early in pregnant or nursing women, whose breasts are often tender and swollen.
* Breast examination should be part of prenatal and postnatal care.
* Tests that examine the breasts are used to detect (find) and diagnose breast cancer.
* Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.
Clinical Trials to Treat Breast Cancer
Check for breast cancer treatment trials from NCI's PDQ® Cancer Clinical Trials Registry now accepting patients. The list of clinical trials can be refined by location, stage of disease, drug, and other features.
New Study of Targeted Therapies for Breast Cancer Establishes Model for Global Clinical Trials
Two targeted medications designed to treat an aggressive form of breast cancer are being tested in a new study, called ALTTO, involving 8,000 participants in 50 countries across six continents -a clinical trial that investigators hope will provide a new model for global cancer research.
Brain Scans Show Structural Effects of Chemotherapy
The cognitive impairments demonstrated by breast cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy - symptoms commonly called "chemobrain" - may be related to structural brain changes, according to an article published early online November 27, 2006, in the journal Cancer.
New Trastuzumab Regimen Lessens Cardiac Side Effects
A Finnish study on therapies for early breast cancer reports lower cardiac side effects among women who received a shorter than standard course of treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin®), according to the Feb. 23, 2006, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Herceptin® Combined With Chemotherapy Improves Disease-Free Survival for Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Results from two large randomized clinical trials for patients with HER-2 positive invasive breast cancer show that those patients with early-stage breast cancer who received Herceptin® (trastuzumab) in combination with chemotherapy had a significant decrease in risk for breast cancer recurrence compared with patients who received the same chemotherapy without trastuzumab.
Bevacizumab Combined With Chemotherapy Improves Progression-Free Survival for Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer
Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic breast cancer show that those patients who received bevacizumab (Avastin™) in combination with standard chemotherapy had a longer time period before their cancer progressed than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab. Questions and Answers
Age Associated with Type of Breast Cancer Treatment
Women 75 or older with early-stage breast cancer are more likely to receive nonstandard primary tumor therapy in an integrated health care setting, according to the Sept. 20, 2006, Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer Now Less Risky for Heart
The risk of death from heart disease caused by radiation therapy for breast cancer has declined steadily over the past 25 years, according to a study published in the March 16, 2005 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Molecular Test Can Predict Both the Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence and Who Will Benefit From Chemotherapy
A new test can predict both the risk of breast cancer recurrence and may identify women who will benefit most from chemotherapy.
Dose-Dense Chemotherapy Helped Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer
Weekly administration of the drug Taxol® (paclitaxel) to patients with breast cancer that had spread to other parts of the body resulted in a higher response rate and a longer delay until patients' disease progressed, compared with conventional administration of the drug every three weeks.
Surgery Choices for Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer
A booklet for women who have early-stage breast cancer (DCIS or Stage I, IIA, IIB, or IIIA). The booklet describes breast cancer surgery choices including breast-sparing surgery, mastectomy, and breast reconstruction surgery.
Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer
Information and recommendations about treating breast cancer from an NIH Consensus Development Conference held in November 2000.
Adjuvant and Neoadjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer
A fact sheet that explains different types of adjuvant therapy (treatment given after primary therapy to increase the chance of long-term survival) and neoadjuvant therapy (treatment given before primary therapy). Discusses side effects, risks, and benefits of adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.20
Tamoxifen: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet that describes the action, risks, benefits, and side effects of tamoxifen, a drug that interrupts the hormone estrogen and its connection to breast cancer. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.16
Aromatase Inhibitors
A collection of information about aromatase inhibitors, a hormone therapy used in the treatment of some women with breast cancer.
Early Breast Cancer Patients Benefit from Shortened Chemotherapy
Women with one type of early breast cancer get the same benefit from three months of one chemotherapy as they do from six months of another drug combination.
High-Dose Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
A collection of material about high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow or stem cell transplant as a treatment for breast cancer.
Hormone Therapy Increases Survival for Some Breast Cancer Patients
A drug commonly used for prostate cancer, buserelin, helped premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer live longer, according to a report in the June 7, 2000, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet about the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory breast cancer, an uncommon type of cancer in which the breast becomes red, swollen, and warm. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 6.2
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet that describes the sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure and details two clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of this procedure. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.44
Paget Disease of the Nipple: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet about Paget disease of the nipple, an uncommon type of breast cancer that is sometimes called mammary Paget's disease. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 6.39
Angiogenesis Inhibitors Therapy
A fact sheet that describes the process of eliminating the blood supply to tumors. Lists the cancers in which this approach is being tested. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.42
Biological Therapies for Cancer: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet that provides an overview of how the immune system functions and describes the actions of biological therapies. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.2
Biological Therapy
An introduction to biological therapy to help patients prepare to receive it for cancer treatment or managing side effects.
Bone Marrow Transplantation and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation
A fact sheet that explains the step-by-step procedures of two types of transplantations used with high-dose chemotherapy, including their risks and benefits. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.41
Radiation Therapy for Cancer: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet that defines the different types of radiation therapy and discusses scientific advances that improve the effectiveness of this treatment. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.1
Targeted Cancer Therapies
This NCI fact sheet describes targeted cancer therapies, which are drugs that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific molecules involved in carcinogenesis (the process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells) and tumor growth. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 7.49
Metastatic Cancer: Questions and Answers
A fact sheet about metastasis, the spread of cancer to other parts of the body. Discusses the diagnosis and treatment of cancer that has spread. National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 6.20
Breast Cancer Prevention
- Causes and Risk Factors
- Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool
- Estimating Breast Cancer Risk
- Cancer Risk: Understanding the Puzzle
- Alcohol and Breast Cancer Risk: New Findings
- Decrease in Breast Cancer Rates Related to Reduction in Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy
- New Models of Breast Cancer Risk Focus on Breast Density
- Strenuous Long-Term Physical Activity Lowers Risk of Breast Cancer
- Weight Gain Increases Risk of Breast Cancer After Menopause
- Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk
- Pregnancy and Breast Cancer Risk
- Study Shows Link Between Antibiotic Use and Increased Risk of Breast Cancer
- Antiperspirants/Deodorants and Breast Cancer: Questions and Answers
- DES: Questions and Answers
- Clinician Information: Identification and Management of Persons Exposed to DES (Diethylstilbestrol)
- NIH-Funded Centers to Seek Early Environmental Exposures That May Lead to Breast Cancer
- Heterocyclic Amines in Cooked Meats
- Younger Black Women Develop a More Lethal Type of Breast Cancer
- Breast Cancer Risk Among Young Women with Hodgkin Disease
- Menopausal Hormone Use
- Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project
- Magnetic Field Exposure and Cancer: Questions and Answers
- Oral Contraceptives and Cancer Risk: Questions and Answers
- National Cancer Institute Breast Implant Study: Fact Sheet
Overview
Although advances in prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment, are having a beneficial impact on incidence, mortality, and survival, breast cancer is responsible for the highest number of new, invasive cancer cases among women each year and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the U.S., after lung cancer. Even when controlled for age and stage at diagnosis, black, non-Hispanic white, and Hispanic women have higher breast cancer mortality rates compared with American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander women.
* In 2007, in the U.S., an estimated:
o 178,480 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
o 62,030 women will be diagnosed with in situ breast cancer.
o 40,460 women will die from breast cancer.
* Overall, there was a 6% relative decline in breast cancer incidence between 2002 and 2003.
* There was a 14% decrease in incidence rates among women aged 50-69 diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer between 2002 and 2003. This may have been due to the recent decline in use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by postmenopausal women following the publication of the Women's Health Initiative results.
* More than 2.3 million women in the U.S. have survived breast cancer or are living with breast cancer today.
o Breast Cancer Topic Search — Cancer Topic Searches are prepared literature searches from the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database. Citations on a specific sub-category can be retrieved, or results limited by a date range.
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