The Alternative Names For Breast Cancer

Alternative names for breast cancer are: cancer of breast; carcinoma – ductal; carcinoma – lobular.

Other names do people employ is familial; malignant neoplasm of breast; malignant tumor of breast; and mammary cancer.

Breast cancer is a disease in which certain cells in the breast become abnormal and reproduce with no control or order to shape a tumor. The most usual form starts in cells lining the ducts that bring milk to the nipple (ductal cancer). Other forms start in the glands that generate milk (lobular cancer) or in other areas of the breast.

However, not all breast cancers are similar. They happen from various areas of the breast, have various names and work in a different way, though they externally come out the same.

The first strength of mind for naming is whether the breast cancer is “in situ” or “invasive”. In situ cancers stay in the boundaries of the type of cells that shaped them. In situ indicates “in place”, staying where it belongs and not spreading. Therefore in situ cancers are at times named precancerous, signifying they might grow into invasive cancers at some later time. Roughly 20-40% of in situ cancers will do this if not removed. At present, roughly 12% of detected breast cancers are in situ.

The second part of the name informs something regarding that particular type of cancer. A number of breast cancers get their names from the cells of the breast that turned into cancer. If the cancer happens from the cells of the tubes or ducts that normally bring milk to the nipple, it is named “ductal” or from the ducts. Eighty percent of breast cancers are ductal.

If a cancer happens from the part of the breast that generates milk, it is named a lobular cancer. “Lobular” refers to lobes, or the milk creating structures. Ten percent of breast cancers are lobular. Another cancer kind is inflammatory breast cancer (3%) which leads to the breast to appear like it has an infection.

The names of other rare types explain what the pathologist observes when s/he looks at the cancer under the microscope. For instance, tubular breast cancer still shapes tube-like structures, medullary breast cancer has the color of the part of the brain named the medulla, mucinous cancers have mucus-like material, and papillary cancer has finger-like projections.