Breast tumours

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Ductal carcinoma of breast
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Lobular carcinoma of breast
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Paget's carcinoma of breast

It is one of the most common tumors in general. They form two basic groups:

  1. benign tumors;
  2. malignant tumors.

Benign breast tumors

Malignant breast tumors

They are the most common malignant tumors of women in the Czech Republic, their incidence is still increasing.

Epidemiology

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Paget's carcinoma of breast
  • Incidence is rising, but mortality is not rising because they are diagnosed at earlier stages;
  • peak incidence is around age 57;
  • In men, it occurs at a ratio of 1:140.

Etiology

  • Age is the most serious risk (incidence rises from 30 years of age, with 85% of tumors above 45 years of age);
  • Sporadic carcinomas - dysplastic changes of epithelial cells (carcinoma in situ) occur until cancer develops;
  • but also involves the activity of stromal cells, which produce proteolytic enzymes and angiogenic factors-facilitating growth and metastasis;
  • hormonal effects - long-term effects of estrogens;
  • genetic carcinomas - occurrence in direct relatives (mother, sister, daughter) or accumulation of tumors within syndromes (Li-Fraumeni syndrome - mutation of one p53 allele, Cowden syndrome - rare, associated with hamartomas);
  • the gene BRCA 1 and 2 is of greatest importance for the detection of genetic susceptibility;
    • a woman with a BRCA 1 mutation has a lifetime risk of 55-85% for cancer (15-45% for ovarian cancer);
    • common in the Jewish population;
    • male BRCA carriers are in turn at risk for prostate cancer and colorectal cancer;
    • hereditary cancer is often bilateral;
    • BRCA 2 positive carcinoma is usually very poorly differentiated, aggressive.

Risk factors: =

  1. length of exposure to estrogens - early menarche, late menopause, nulliparity;
  2. other breast disease - cystic adenomas, ductal papillomas (risk of missed carcinoma);
  3. effects of ionizing radiation - also mammography;
  4. obesity, increased fat intake and lack of exercise;
  5. the effect of smoking, chemicals, hormonal contraceptives has not been clearly documented.

Clinical manifestations

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Macroscopically visible breast lump, deformity and nipple retraction
  • Most commonly, it is a palpable, painless lump in the breast (in 75% it is the first manifestation of the disease);
  • Optimally, however, a non-palpable lesion should be found on mammography;
  • other symptoms (less common) - breast pain (5%), breast enlargement (1%), skin or nipple retraction (5%), discharge (2%), superficial changes on the nipple (1%);
  • enlargement of axillary nodes - regional spread;
  • at advanced stage - bone pain, weight loss,...
  • paraneoplasia - dermatomyositis, neuromuscular syndrome, acanthosis nigrans, hypercalcemia in bone metastases.

Diagnostics

Clinical examination:

  • Careful personal, family and gynecological medical history;
  • appearance - symmetry of the breasts, symmetry with breathing, nipple regularity, skin color, vein enlargement may indicate tumor activity;
  • palpation - systematically all quadrants, size of resistance, mobility, border, consistency;
  • frequency of findings of carcinomas in each quadrant - most often HZK (47%), nipple (22%) and HVK (14%), lower quadrants few;
  • palpation of nodes axillary, above the germ.

Imaging methods:

  • mammography is dominant - the yield is up to 90%;
    • finding - microcalcifications are usually visible, solid lesion with serrated edges;
    • ultrasound - usually complementary to mammography, has high sensitivity (95%) but limited specificity, preferred in women under 40 years of age;
    • CT, MRI, less so ductography, PET.

Biochemical testing:

  • standard - liver tests, urea, creatinine, electrolytes,
  • tumor markers - CEA, CA 15-3, TPA;
  • of particular importance is the determination of hormone receptors - by immunohistochemistry in tissue sections; the influence of estrogen and progesterone on tumor growth is assumed
  • molecular biology - especially determination of HER-2/neu - causes increased proliferative activity (prognostic and predictive significance);
  • biopsy - fine needle aspiration (FNA) - more important to differentiate between cystic and solid masses;
  • histology is only possible with a self-cutting needle (core biopsy) under anaesthesia (local or general).

Screening:

  • early diagnosis is the basis for successful treatment;
  • mammography screening for women 45 and older (once every two years)[1].

Histopathology

  • Carcinoma most commonly arises from the terminal ductal lobular unit (TDLU);
  • It is usually preceded by a non-invasive form - carcinoma in situ.

Carcinoma in situ

  • Lobular carcinoma in situ' - from mammary lobule cells, proliferation of cells in lobules that dilate;
    • not detectable mammographically (unlike the previous one);
    • often arises multicentrically, even in the contralateral breast;
    • more common in premenopausal women.
  • Ductal carcinoma in situ' - proliferation of ductal epithelium without crossing the basement membrane, may form microcalcifications (detectable mammographically), may progress to invasive ductal carcinoma;
    • a special form is Paget's carcinoma of the nipple - when tumor cells from the ducts invade the nipple, more often in postmenopausal women.

Invasive forms of carcinoma

  • There are different forms, infiltrating is divided into 2 forms - lobular and ductal.
Lobular
  • about 10%, often in the HZK (upper outer quadrant);
  • often metastasizes to serous membranes, meninges, ovaries, retroperitoneally.
Ductal
  • the most common (75%), often tubular, accompanied by reactive fibrosis - the tumor has a form where it is hard as a stone;
  • metastasizes to bone, liver and lungs;
Inflammatory (erysipeloid) carcinoma
  • rare (1-3%), the most aggressive form;
  • infiltration of the entire breast, diffuse erythema, skin induction (typical orange peel appearance);
  • 50-70% of tumors have nodal metastases at the time of diagnosis.

Treatment

The final treatment is the result of a joint decision by a multidisciplinary team.

Surgical treatment

  • Since 1882, radical mastectomy with exenteration of the axilla (pectoral muscles, nerves, ...) has been performed;
  • Nowadays, modified radical mastectomy is more commonly performed - the breast is separated from the pectoralis fascia, the nodes are removed from the superficial stages, the nodes below the m. pectoralis minor are usually not removed;
  • another variant - sentinel node;
  • salvage procedures - quadrantectomy, tumorectomy;
    • necessary to complement radiotherapy, reconstructive surgery is performed;
  • also as a modality of hormonal treatment - ovarectomy;
  • Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast Ca (mammography before and after)
    for BRCA, surgery can also be used as prophylaxis.

Radiotherapy

  • Carcinoma has limited radiosensitivity;
  • it is indicated after salvage surgery, the result is then identical to ablation;
  • it is therefore given adjuvantly;
  • brachyradiotherapy - application of iridium wires;
  • palliative treatment - for bone metastases.

Chemotherapy

  • Breast cancer is relatively sensitive to a range of cytostatics, and combinations are mainly used;
  • the basic combination is CFM - cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-FU, or combination with anthracyclines;
  • monotherapy - in older women with limited marrow reserve;
  • adjuvantly - before menopause always when lymph nodes are involved, not given for carcinoma in situ or for tumors under 1 cm;
  • neoadjuvant - for large tumors;
  • palliation - the main treatment method for disseminated disease, can significantly prolong survival.

Hormone Therapy

  • Adjuvant, neoadjuvant and palliative treatment;
  • in premenopausal - castration - surgical or pharmacological.
  • SERM - Tamoxifen
  • Aromatase inhibitors - reduction of female sex hormone synthesis

Biological treatments

  • Membrane receptor inhibition - Ig against HER-2/neu receptors - Herceptin.


Reference

  1. Česká republika. Vyhláška 3/2010 Sb. o stanovení obsahu a časového rozmezí preventivních prohlídek. 2010. pp. 10 §4 písm. i. Available from <http://www.mamo.cz/res/file/legislativa/vyhlaska-3-2010.pdf>.

Source