Breast Cancer Types

There are numerous types of breast cancer and knowing what type you have can play an important role in selecting your treatment.

 
Ductal Carcinoma in situ:
DCIS is early breast cancer confined to the inside of the ductal system.

Infiltrating Ductal:
The most common type of breast cancer representing 78% of all malignancies. These lesions can be stellate (star like in appearance on mammography) in appearance or well circumscribed (rounded). The stellate lesions generally have a poorer prognosis.

Medullary Carcinoma:
Comprises 15% of breast cancers. These lesions are generally well circumscribed.

Infiltrating Lobular:
Representing 15% of breast cancer these lesions generally present in the upper outer quadrant of the breast as a subtle thickening.

Tubular Carcinoma:
Orderly or well differentiated carcinoma of the breast. These lesions make up about 2% of breast cancer and have a favorable prognosis with nearly a 95% 10-year survival.

Mucinous Carcinoma:
Represents 1%-2% of carcinoma of the breast and has a favorable prognosis.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer:
IBC, a rare but very aggressive type of breast cancer, in which the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast are blocked by cancer cells. It is called “Inflammatory” because the breast often looks swollen and red, or “inflamed”. IBC accounts for 1 to 5 percent of all breast cancer cases in the United States.