Even without symptoms or signs, breast cancer or a precursor of breast carcinoma may have already formed. The range of complaints is wide, which is why they can not always be clearly assigned. In the following, symptoms and diagnosis of breast cancer are explained in more detail.
Signs that indicate breast cancer
The following signs or symptoms should be clarified by a doctor in any case, especially if these symptoms are new:
- Palpable indurations
- Palpable nodes
- Change in shape or size of a breast
- Change in the mobility of the breast when lifting the arms
- Retractions of the skin or nipple (“orange peel“).
- Changes in appearance, color or sensitivity in certain areas of the breast.
- Fluid secretions from a nipple
- Enlarged axillary lymph nodes
- Knotty axillary lymph nodes
- Pulling or burning in one breast
- Other pain in one breast
In the best case, the symptoms have a harmless cause, such as hormone-related hardening or infection. However, even if breast cancer is present, quick action after the onset of symptoms improves the chances of recovery from this type of cancer.
Palpation as self-examination
To detect any symptoms early, every woman over the age of 30 should regularly palpate her breasts herself. This self-examination is best done once a month about a week after the start of the period. In this way, possible complaints or symptoms can be detected.
By regularly looking at and palpating her breasts, the woman gets to know her breast tissue very well and notices changes at an early stage, which can be a sign of breast cancer. During the examination, the gynecologist will also first look at and palpate the breasts in a side-by-side comparison; this also includes palpating the lymph nodes in the armpits.
Mammography and ultrasound for breast examination
If breast cancer is suspected or if the changes cannot be assigned, the doctor will initiate a mammogram. This special X-ray examination of the breast reveals tiny foci of calcification (microcalcifications) as signs of remodeling processes, lumps, thickening of the skin, and other tissue changes in the breast.
Today, the diagnosis of breast cancer also includes sonography: ultrasound examination can distinguish between lumps and cysts, and depending on the tissue, it provides better images than mammography. In rare cases and if there is still uncertainty, magnetic resonance imaging (breast MRI) is also used.
Diagnosis of breast cancer
A tissue sample can be used to determine whether the abnormal region is benign or a breast carcinoma by examining the tissue under a microscope. Usually, a punch biopsy is performed under local anesthesia, using a hollow needle about 1.5 mm thick to punch out three to five cylindrical samples from the tissue.
Recently, researchers have begun to suspect that in breast cancer in glandular tissue, the concentration of ferroportin, a transport protein for iron, is too low and thus the concentration of free iron is too high. Obviously, changes in iron metabolism stimulate the growth of cancer cells. Thus, in the future, the determination of iron levels could find its way into tumor diagnostics and allow statements to be made about the aggressiveness of the tumor and thus its prognosis.
