Breast tumors are benign (mainly cysts, fibroadenomas or fibrocystic changes) and malignant tumors of the mammary gland (breast carcinoma).
Every palpable nodule in the breast should be clarified, because the prognosis of a malignant tumour depends largely on the stage it is at at the beginning of treatment and therefore on the effectiveness of early detection. The average survival time for women with untreated breast cancer is just under 3 years. Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women (24% of all malignancies) and the leading cause of death in women in their 40s and 50s. One in nine women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
How can a tumor be detected earlier? A lump is discovered by the woman herself, or during the doctor’s routine examination.
In the normal checkup, the breasts are scanned once a year from age 30 and additionally every 2 years from age 50 to 69.
It is recommended that every woman be encouraged to perform a monthly self-examination, preferably after her period. The examination includes inspection of the breasts in front of a mirror and palpation of the breasts in a standing and lying position, including the underarm region. Once the nodule has been identified, the diagnosis should be made because 12% of self-test changes are malignant. The office exam is also very important because the doctor can determine if there are any changes in the breast during the exam. Ultrasound examination or breast ultrasound cannot replace mammography in terms of information value, but they do offer additional diagnostic possibilities, especially to differentiate between solid and cystic processes, especially in the case of dense glands. Under sonographic vision, it is possible to puncture the findings with a subsequent histological examination. If the information is not clear, a mammogram should be performed. These low radiation examinations are offered in the private practices of radiologists or in all radiology departments of the hospitals in Palma.
Early detection and screening.
The office doctor may perform the following tests:
Examination and palpation, exact location of the tumor and possible supraclavicular, cervical and axillary lymph nodes.
- Early medical diagnosis of cancer
- Imaging procedures-such as an ultrasound exam
- Mammography: The best time for the procedure is shortly after menstruation, since the parenchyma is best evaluated at this time. It is evaluated according to the BI-RADS classification system. A finding of BIRADS-4 means the tumor is suspicious.
- The biopsy, the removal of tissue from the tumor is necessary.
After receiving the histological findings, the tumor is recognizable
– Good and likely, she doesn’t need more therapy (she doesn’t need to be removed) or unfortunately
– Malignant or carcinoma, and these are divided into 2 groups, non-invasive and invasive tumors. The latter can form metastases outside the breast.
Histological findings of a carcinoma include
1 – tumors that originate in the cells of the milk ducts (ductal carcinomas) or
2 – glandular lobes (lobular carcinomas)
Non-invasive tumors are called carcinoma in situ (DCIS and SILC) and are limited in their extension to the breast ducts/glandular cells of the breast.
There are two different subspecies,
1 – Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), as described above, grows in the milk ducts and is discovered in 95% of cases by mammography through evident calcification or microcalcification.
This type of cancer very rarely forms lumps and is therefore almost never palpable. The ultrasound exam can sometimes see the thickened milk ducts on the ultrasound.
After frequent marking of microcalcifications are removed under general anesthesia.
In 20 to 50% of the cases, DCIS becomes an invasive cartilage, therefore, although it has an optimal chance of healing, because it has not yet found a connection with the lymphatic and blood flow, it remains located in the breast. Everything must be removed in a healthy way.