Inflammatory breast carcinoma
Inflammatory breast carcinoma is extremely rare, accounting for about 1 – 4 % of all breast cancer cases. Here, diffuse cancer cell growth occurs along the lymph vessels of the skin. Symptoms that occur are, for example, reddening, overheating or an orange peel phenomenon (see also: Breast cancer detection).
Thus, inflammatory breast carcinoma often resembles an inflammation of the breast (mastitis). In contrast to mastitis, however, the patient does not experience pain and fever. The inflammatory breast carcinoma has a very poor prognosis overall.
Paget’s disease
Paget’s disease (also known as Paget’s carcinoma) is a form of breast cancer that mainly originates from a ductal carcinoma and affects the nipple, sometimes also the entire areola. The tumour usually occurs on one side and can initially be confused with an inflammatory change of the nipple. However, this usually occurs on both sides. In more advanced stages, the nipple can be retracted due to the tissue-damaging growth of the cancer.
Receptor status
The pathologist examines a tissue sample taken not only for the type of cancer and the appearance of the cells. Using certain staining and measuring techniques, the hormone receptor status is also routinely determined if a breast cancer node is present. In the past, scientists have been able to show that many breast tumours have receptors to which the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone can dock, thereby stimulating the cancer cells to grow.
Another type of receptor that is routinely tested is the HER2/neu receptor. It is found on the surface of healthy breast cells, but also on most breast cancer cells. The HER2/neu receptor belongs to a specific class known as growth factor receptors.
When activated, it leads to the development and growth of the cell. How many HER2/neu receptors a cell has is determined by a specific gene in the cell. In tumour cells, this gene is often present as a copy more often and the number of receptors can be 10 – 100 times higher.
As a result, cancer cells are more easily and strongly stimulated to grow than healthy cells. There is also a scale for the HER/2neu receptor, ranging from 0-3, where 0 means that there is a normal number of receptors. .
Do you need detailed information on this topic? At this point we would like to point out that a detailed book has been written on this topic. Find out more about the chances of recovery, conservative and surgical measures, as well as better assessment of risks.
Learn the right way to deal with the disease bus cancer and become a competent partner for your doctor. New breast cancer therapies are based on the receptor status of the respective tumour. For this purpose, samples are taken in advance from the space in the breast and examined in detail for their composition.
With knowledge of the exact characteristics of the tumour, a targeted therapy can then be started which destroys the cancer as precisely as possible and at the same time causes as few side effects as possible. Many breast cancers are positive for the oestrogen receptor. This means that this tumour grows faster under the influence of oestrogen.
If this receptor is now blocked, the cancer is specifically inhibited in its growth. Another typical receptor of breast cancer is the progesterone receptor. As with the oestrogen receptor, a positive test result means that breast cancer can spread faster due to the hormone progesterone.
In other words, its growth is accelerated by the sex hormone. If this receptor is blocked, the cancer can be specifically treated. HER is the abbreviation for “human epidermal growth factor receptor” and actually describes itself very well.
These are growth factor receptors on cancer cells which, when activated, help the cancer to grow in size. Figuratively speaking, they can be thought of as switches that – when turned upside down – lead to the initiation of growth processes. HER1 only means that there are several of these subtypes of receptors and that they are therefore simply numbered.
If a breast cancer is positive for this receptor, blocking the receptor again represents a targeted therapy against the cancer. As already mentioned, HER2 is just another subform of the growth factor receptors. It is important to know that breast cancer does not have to be HER1 positive and therefore HER2 positive at the same time, but that both types of receptors can occur independently in breast cancer.
There are effective therapies for both variants, which can be designed, among other things, by administering antibodies. These antibodies then block the signal at the receptor and the breast cancer is inhibited in its spread. Triple negative is a type of breast cancer that is negative for all three receptors mentioned.
This means that exactly this type of breast cancer is not positive for oestrogen, progesterone or HER1/HER2. Its growth is therefore completely independent of these hormones and receptors. This type of breast cancer is therefore more difficult to treat than others because no exact cancer structures can be attacked or blocked. In most cases, a high-dose chemotherapy must then be started with a possibly combined irradiation, which destroys not only the cancerous tissue but also other healthy body tissue. The side effects are therefore greater in this case.
