Breast cancer

Anatomy of the Breast

The breasts are cutaneous, even and symmetrical, located in the front and upper part of the female thorax. They are formed by a group of glands located in the subcutaneous tissue, 15-20 per side. The excretory ducts of these glands, called milk ducts (or galactophores ), come together and open out into the nipple, with 10-12 lactose pores.

Each breast is made up of 15-25 glandular units independent of each other, called mammary lobes . Each lobe is divided into a variable number of smaller lobes, called lobules ; they are formed by a system of ducts, the alveolar ducts . The lobules are separated from each other by connective tissue, called interlobular connective tissue . The lobes are immersed in a mass of adipose tissue. Very strong septa of fibrous tissue delimit the territory of each lobe. A single large duct, the milk duct, drains each lobe by means of a separate opening on the surface of the nipple. The skin surrounding the nipple, called the areola, is pigmented (colored), and contains sebum-producing glands, which however are not associated with hair follicles as occurs in other areas of the skin. The secretions of these glands help protect the nipple and areola during breast-feeding.

Article Index

Benign breast tumors

risk classification of carcinoma treatment

Preinvasive lesions

Invasive breast cancer

risk factors types of cancer symptoms diagnosis surgical therapy radiotherapy chemotherapy hormone therapy

Breast Cancer Symptoms

Breast pain Orange peel skin Breast lumps Breast Nipple Serous or blood secretion from the nipple

Breast cancer in pregnancy

Drugs for the treatment of breast cancer

Mastectomy

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Benign Breast Cancers

CLASSIFICATION

The most frequent benign breast tumor, typical of reproductive age, was once defined by the term " fibrocystic disease or fibrocystic mastopathy ". Most lesions forming part of fibrocystic mastopathy are simple disorders of normal developmental processes, of cyclical changes and of the involution that the breast undergoes during a woman's life. In adolescence the development of ducts and lobules takes place and, during this period, the finding of some alterations of the breast must be considered as a simple developmental disorder and not as a disease. Fibroadenoma is the disorder most frequently encountered within this group. It is characterized by an increase in the number of glandular cells that make up the lobules (hyperplastic lobules), but does not present the uncontrolled growth of tumors and, usually, growth stops once the diameter of 2-3 cm is reached. It is a hormone-dependent lesion, which can increase in volume during pregnancy, and which undergoes an involution with menopause.

In the fertile phase of reproductive life, we witness the appearance of phenomena such as the dilation (ectasia) of the ducts, accompanied by an increase in glandular secretions. The combination of these modifications can determine the appearance of nodules or densification of the whole body; only those that lead to a prolonged symptomatology for more than two weeks per cycle are among the disorders of cyclical changes in the breast.

The glandular changes typical of the involutive phase of the breast begin at the age of 35 and continue for about 20 years. Disorders during this phase determine the formation of small or large cysts, or the retraction of the nipple that is observed at a later age (ductal sclerosis). The formation of large cysts is a common occurrence in the age that precedes menopause by a few years, and concerns about 7% of Western women.

Some benign alterations of the breast are diagnosed incidentally (by chance) during tests carried out for other diseases, as they do not give rise to palpable nodules and do not cause characteristic radiological or echographic findings. They are all proliferative lesions of the breast. Benign lesions less common than the breast are benign ductal papilloma (a growth of the ducts) and adenosis, that is, an enlargement of some lobules with numerical increase of the acini, which on palpation look like a hardened plaque.

Risk of breast cancer

It is not possible to attribute an increased risk of malignant breast cancer to women suffering from a benign disease since, in the wide spectrum of lesions that characterize this pathology, only some pictures are to be considered at risk for the onset of a carcinoma.