Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer

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What is invasive ductal Carcinoma breast cancer?

This is the most common type of breast cancer. It starts developing in the milk ducts of your breast, but breaks out of the duct tubes, and invades, or infiltrates the surrounding tissue of the breast.
Over time, invasive ductal carcinoma can spread to the lymph nodes and possibly to other areas of the body. Invasive ductal carcinoma accounts for about 8 out of 10 of all invasive breast cancers.
It is also known as Infiltrating or Infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Although this can affect women at any age, it is more common as women grow older.
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What are the signs and symptoms?

• A lump or swelling of all or part of the breast
• Skin irritation or dimpling
• Breast pain
• Nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
• Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
• A nipple discharge other than breast milk
• A lump in the underarm area

How is a diagnosis made ?

Your GP will refer you to a specialist breast clinic in a Hospital (please see section “Specialist breast units” for the list in Ireland) if he has any concern about your symptoms. At the Hospital, you may have triple assessment.
This involves doing some tests to help diagnose your breast complaint. Triple assessment uses three different ways to assess your breasts. It starts with the Doctor examining your breasts and underarms.
Usually this is followed by a mammogram (x-ray of the breast) in the x-ray department or an Ultrasound scan , in some cases both. Finally, you may need a biopsy which may be either a Fine needle test or a core biopsy. A biopsy involves taking a sample of cells or tissue which is examined under the microscope. If you do not have a lump you may not need full triple assessment.”

What treatment will I be offered?

Surgery

As for most types of breast cancer, surgery will be the first treatment. This may be wide local excision removal of the cancer and an areas of normal tissue around it or mastectomy removal of the whole breast .
You will usually be given a choice between these two types of surgery. If a wide local excision is possible there is a chance that a second operation may be necessary to make sure that a clear enough area of tissue around the lump is taken. In some cases, to get a clear area of tissue it may be necessary for the whole breast to be removed.
If cancer is found in more than one area in the breast, The surgeon may advise mastectomy.

It is important to find out whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the axilla glands in your armpit . The surgeon may remove some of the lymph nodes lymph node sample or all of them (lymph node clearance). This will help to find out whether you need any further treatment such as chemotherapy .

Adjuvant treatment

These are treatments given in addition to surgery and include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone therapy. The aim of adjuvant treatment is to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back in the same breast local recurrence , the opposite breast or elsewhere in the body.
If you have a wide local excision you will usually be offered radiotherapy to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back in the same breast. If you have a mastectomy you may not need radiotherapy. For more general information call the National Cancer Freefone Helpline on 1800 200 700 and ask for our booklet on Radiotherapy .

In some cases chemotherapy is recommended, for example if the cancer has spread to the lymph glands in the armpit. For further information see our booklet Understanding Cancer of the Breast .

You may be offered hormonal therapy if your tumour is oestrogen receptor positive , which means that it depends on the hormone oestrogen for growth. For further information call National Cancer’s Freefone Helpline on 1800 200 700 and ask for our Tamoxifen factsheet.
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Targeted Therapies

There are some newer drugs available, which may also be prescribed for you called targeted therapies. These drugs work by blocking the growth and spread of cancer by changing the biology of cancer cells. The most well known is a drug called Herceptin (Trastuzumab). This one is only suitable for people whose cancer has high levels of Her2, a protein that encourages cancer cell growth.

Coping with breast cancer

Being diagnosed with breast cancer can be a very anxious and frightening time. Remember that there are people who can support you so don’t be afraid to ask for help. You can let other people know how you are feeling, particularly your family and friends, so that they can be more supportive. It can also help to discuss your feelings or worries with your breast care nurse or specialist. Alternatively a counsellor or psychotherapist might be more appropriate if you want to talk through your feelings in more depth over a period of time. Your breast care nurse, specialist or GP can arrange this.
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Further Support

You might find it easier to share your feelings with someone who has had a similar experience to you. Reach to Recovery is a programme set up to help and support women who have recently had a breast cancer diagnosis. The programme works on the principle of personal contact between the patient and a Reach to Recovery volunteer – a woman who has had treatment for breast cancer. Carefully selected and fully trained volunteers are available to provide advice and reassurance at a time when a woman is most in need of both. For more information on individual support or support groups in your area, call the National Cancer Freefone Helpline on 1800 200 700.

Help from Action Breast Cancer

Action Breast Cancer is a national project established by the Irish Cancer Society to provide breast cancer information and support and to fund breast cancer research. Its services are free, confidential and accessible.
For more information call the National Cancer Freefone Helpline on 1800 200 700.
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ABC would like to thank Breast Cancer Care in the UK for their permission to adapt the text in this factsheet from their series of factsheets.