Breast Cancer : How many different types of breast cancer are there besides inflammatory, ER/PR+, Her2+, triple neg?

How many different types of breast cancer are there besides inflammatory, ER/PR+, Her2+, triple neg?

Cancel

Topic Tags:

Unorganized

Topic Tags:

Unorganized X

Done

Diseases:

Breast Cancer

Diseases:

Breast Cancer

Done

Expert Answers

SaraHurvitzMD (Physician - Oncology - Hematology/Oncology (Verified) ) - 06 / 12 / 2012

The classification of breast cancer is evolving. Historically, we classified breast cancers based on how they appear under the microscope and what growth patterns they make. This classification system is called “histological” and includes invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma and multiple other rarer types of breast cancer (medullary, mucinous, tubular, etc). This classification system does not provide much information regarding what the driving force of the cancer is, does not tell us what type of therapy is going to be most effective, and does not tell us much about prognsosis. In the last 3 decades, a more molecular classification has emerged (and continues to be refined). In the clinic, we now roughly classify tumors by the types of proteins the tumor expresses, including HER2, and the hormone receptors (ER and PR). This gives us more information about prognosis and guides treatment choices. For example, a tumor that is positive for ER and PR, negative for HER2 and is small, the best treatment after surgery/radiation is anti-hormonal therapy (tamoxifen and/or an aromatase inhibitor). Tumors that lack expression of all three proteins are termed “triple negative” and tend to be more aggressive, often requiring chemotherapy. Inflammatory breast cancer is a clinical diagnosis (not a molecular or histological diagnosis) that is made when a patient has a very rapid development (days to weeks) of a red, hot, swollen breast. It is rare (1% of all breast cancer) and is most commonly HER2+ or triple negative and requires urgent treatment with chemotherapy.

Join Now to ask a follow-up question or share your experience!
We'll help guide and support you through treatments.

Similar Questions

When 2 different types of breast cancer are discovered in each breast at the same time, how does this impact treatment?

What makes inflammatory breast cancer different from other breast cancer?

For inflammatory breast cancer, do the tumor cells form a primary tumor? Or how is the behavior of these tumor cells different than other breast cancers?

How is it determined if a breast cancer is triple negative?

How is triple negative breast cancer usually treated?

Note: All content on this site is informational and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with questions regarding your health.

Note: Usernames have been made anonymous and profile images are not shown to protect the privacy of our members.

Flag Content

Please explain why you are flagging this content. Thank you.

Cancel

Thank you for flagging this content. We will look into it right away.

Give a 'Thank you' to

Cancel

Add Answer

1) Question:

2) Background Info (optional): What context or background information is relevant to this request?

Notes:
The more clear and thorough your request, the more likely you will receive support.
Many of our members are learning from this information or english might not be their first language. Please use standard english and spell out all words. For example, use 'you' instead of 'u'.

Thank you for sharing your question.

Our topic related experts will review the question and will either answer right away, find the right specialist, or save the question for the next relevant Q&A workshop. Responses will be sent to your email account as well as viewable at the following link on TalkAboutHealth:

We are finding other members now to join the chat.

Click here to start the chat.

Newsletters