Common types of breast cancer, other benign breast neoplasms, and other terms related to breast cancer treatment and diagnosis.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer are often contronted with imposing medical terms concerning the various different kinds of breast cancer, and the particular characterisitics of her own diagnosis. Quite often the diagnosis is for a benign breast condition, and there can be some anxiety as to whether or not these breast changes indicate increased risk for breast cancer. There are many specific technical terms used in treating breast cancers which are far less stressful once they are understood in simple, laymans terms.

 

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Various kinds of breast cancer

Most invasive breast cancers are actually of a generic variety, often simply called 'ductal carcinoma NOS' or 'not otherwise specified. There are about 5 or 6 fairly common types of specific breast cancers which have a particular cellular appearance and behaviour. Beyond this there are numerous rare forms of breast cancer, and quite a number that are more difficult to classify because they have features common two different breast cancer types, or contain a certain percentage of benign disease.

1. Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma
2. Adenocarcinoma of the breast.
3. Tubular carcinoma of the breast
4. Invasive cribriform breast carcinoma
5. Papillary breast carcinoma
6. Micropapillary Breast Carcinoma
7. Invasive Medullary Carcinoma of the breast
8. Apocrine breast carcinoma
9. Infiltrating Lobular Carcinoma of the breast
10. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma with central necrosis
11. Paget's disease
12. Inflammatory Breast Cancer
13. Pleomorphic carcinoma of the breast
14. Breast Carcinoma with melanotic features
15. Breast Carcinoma with choriocarcinomatous features
16. Breast Carcinoma with osteoclastic giant cells
17. Neuro-endorcrine carcinoma of the breast
18. small-cell breast carcinoma
19. Carcinoid Breast tumors
20. Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast
21. Colloid or mucinous carcinoma of the breast.
22. Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the breast
23. Signet ring cell breast cancer
24. Columnar cell mucinous breast carcinoma
25. Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma
26. Squamous cell carcinoma of the breast
27. Spindle cell breast carcinoma
28. Fibromatosis-like carcinoma of the breast
29. Mucoepidermoid breast carcinoma -
30. Breast Adenocarcinoma with spindle cell metaplasia
31. Syringomatous carcinoma of the breast
32. Low Grade Adenosquamous carcinoma of the breast-
33. Lipid-rich carcinoma of the breast.
34. Oncocytic carcinoma of the breast
35. Adenoid cystic breast carcinoma - Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC)
36. Secretory carcinoma of the breast
37. Sebaceous breast carcinoma
38. Adnexal Carcinoma of the breast
39. Glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma of the breast
40. Acinic cell breast carcinoma
    

Types of DCIS or 'in situ' breast cancers

Ductal Carcinoma in Situ implies that breast cancer has been found, but has not yet infiltrated the breast ducts. 'In Situ" breast carcinoma can also be located in the breast lobules. Many of the same cellular characteristics of infiltrative and invasive breast cancers can also be seen in 'in situ' ductal and lobular breast carcinomas.

1. Ductal carcinoma in situ DCIS
2. Microinvasive carcinoma of the breast
3. Comedo Carcinoma of the breast: Comedo DCIS.

"Pre-cursor" breast lesions.

Breast Cancer is known to evolve out of certain proliferative breast lesions, which are often referred to as either 'hyperplasia', which means very rapid and uncontrolled new cell growth, and 'neoplasia', which simply means 'new cell growth'. In many instances there is nothing malignant-looking about the new cells, and the cells are simply described, on the whole, as a 'benign epithelial lesion', or possibly a benign breast papilloma. Some of these hyperplastic and neoplastic changes are known to be pre-cancerous, but others are mostly benign, and it remains a topic of uncertainty. The main issue is whether or not there is anything 'atypical' about the cells and the formation.

1. Atypical ductal hyperplasia of the breast.
2. Concerning breast Lobular Neoplasia
3. Breast Fibroglandular Dysplasia
4. Columnar Cell Breast Lesions.
5. Breast Flat Epithelial Atypica or FEA
6. Atypical Intraductal Epithelial Proliferation AIEP) of the breast.
7. Papilloma of the breast.
8. Phyllodes tumor of the breast
9. Breast Epithelial Hyperplasia.

 

Benign Proliferative Breast Lesions and Adenomas

Neoplastic cell growth is always a concern for potential breast cancer. While it is true that sometimes breast cancers can develop from epithelial breast neoplasms, most of the time this does not occur. If there is nothing 'atypical' about the cells or the lesion itself, then the lesion is most likely one of a number of benign epithelial breast changes. If benign epithelial cell breast changes results in a tumor formation, it is often described as an 'adenoma', and if the growth is confined to the breast lobules it might be referred to as an 'adenosis'.

1. Florid Hyperplasia of the breast.
2. Apocrine metaplasia of the breast.
3. Clear Cell breast Metaplasia
4. Breast Adenoma
5. Tubular Adenoma of the breast.
6. Squamous Cell Metaplasia of the breast.
7. Lactating adenoma
8. Apocrine breast adenoma
9. Nipple adenoma
10. Pleomorphic breast adenoma
11. Cystic adenoma of the breast
12. Breast fibroadenoma
13. Hamartoma of the breast.
14. Breast fibroadenolipoma
15. Sclerosing adenosis of the breast
16. Sclerotic breast stroma, breast sclerosis
17. Radial Scar

 

Soft Tissue (mesenchymal) breast tumors

Unlike breast carcinomas, which originate in epithelial cells, there are also breast tumors which develop out of breast 'soft tissue' cells. The majority of soft tissue breast tumors are usually benign but can be malignant. Until they are properly diagnosed they may give an appearance of a conventional breast cancer tumor. Mesenchymal cells are immature 'stem cells', which can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including connective tissues (sometimes called 'stromal cells' as they form 'supportive strucutres', and muscle tissues.

 

Primarily fibrous soft tissue breast tumors

1. Leiomyosarcoma of the breast
2. Breast angiosarcoma
3. Spindle Cell breast Lipoma

Primarily stromal soft tissue breast tumors

1. Breast Myofibroblastoma
2. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the breast
3. Solitary fibrous tumor of the breast
4. Breast leiomyoma
5. Nodular fasciitis of the breast
6. Fibromatosis of the breast
7. Diabetic Fibrous Mastopathy of the breast
8. Hemangiopericytoma of the breast
9. Pseudoangiomatous Stromal Hyperplasia of the breast. ( PASH)
10. Vascular Breast Tumors, angiolipoma, hemangioma
11. Breast Schwannoma
12. Breast Neurofibroma
13. Granular Cell Tumor of the breast

 

Myoepithelial Breast Lesions

Some hyperplastic breast lesions are composed of cells which show both myoepithelial and epithelial characteristics. Myoepithelial cells are usually located in a thin layer just above the basement membrane in glandular epithelium. They are commonly found in the sweat glands, salivary glands, and also the mammary glands. Myoepithelial cells are very important for the body's 'wound healing' process, and generally speaking when myoepithelial cells are found in a breat neoplasm, the tumor tends to be benign. However, myoepithelial cells can also become malignant, though rarely, and myoepithelial breast tumor will usually exhibit a certain percentage of malignant myoepithelial cells alongside malignant epithelial cells.

 

1. Myoepithelioma of the breast.
2. Breast adenomyoepithelioma

 

 

 

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Copyright Steven B. Halls, MD Last edited 14-August-2011