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Overview
Breast cancer arises in the milk-producing
glands of the breast tissue. Groups of glands in normal breast tissue are called
lobules. The products
of these glands are secreted into a ductal system that leads to the nipple. Depending
on where in the glandular or ductal unit of the breast the cancer arises, it will
develop certain characteristics that are used to sub-classify breast cancer into
types. The pathologist
will denote the subtype at the time of evaluation with the microscope. Ductal
carcinoma begins in the ducts, and lobular carcinoma has a pattern involving the
lobules or glands. The more important classification is related to the evaluated
tumor's capability to invade, as this characteristic defines the disease as a
true cancer. The stage
before invasive cancer is called in situ, meaning that the early malignancy has
not yet become capable of invasion. Thus, ductal carcinoma in situ is considered
a minimal breast cancer. <<back |