About Breast Cancer

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What is Breast Cancer?

Cancer occurs when cells do not die to be replaced by new cells, but instead grow and divide uncontrollably to form a tumour. Breast cancer is a cancer that begins in the breast.(2) (3)
Non-invasive breast cancer refers to breast cancer that is confined to the milk duct within the breasts, and has not spread to surrounding breast tissue.(4)
One common type of non-invasive breast cancer is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Without treatment, DCIS may develop into invasive breast cancer.(5) (6)

Invasive breast cancer occurs when cancer cells spread beyond the milk ducts or lobules to invade surrounding breast tissue, or lymph nodes in the armpit (axillary lymph nodes).(7)
Subsequently, the cancer cells may spread to other parts of the body such as the lungs, liver or bones. This is known as metastatic breast cancer.(7)

Quick links

Breast Cancer Stages       

How to detect Breast Cancer

References:
(1) International Agency for Research on Cancer. Breast Cancer Fact Sheet. World Health Organization. 2020. Available at https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/20-Breast-fact-sheet.pdf [Accessed May 2021]
(2) National Cancer Institute. What is cancer? National Institutes of Health. 2021. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer [Accessed May 2021]
(3) Singapore Cancer Society. What is cancer? 2016. Available at https://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/learn-about-cancer/cancer-basics/what-is-cancer.html [Accessed May 2021]
(4) Breastcancer.org. Non-Invasive or Invasive Breast Cancer. 2021. Available at https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/invasive [Accessed May 2021]
(5) Harvard Health Publishing. Untangling the non-invasive breast cancer controversy. Harvard Medical School. 2015. Available at https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/untangling-the-non-invasive-breast-cancer-controversy-201509188293 [Accessed Dec 2020]
(6) Cancer Australia. Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ. 2020. Available at https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/affected-cancer/cancer-types/breast-cancer/diagnosis-ductal-carcinoma-situ [Accessed May 2021]
(7) Cancer.Net. Breast Cancer – Metastatic: Introduction. American Society of Clinical Oncology. 2021. https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/breast-cancer-metastatic/introduction. [Accessed May 2021]