Skip to main content

Breast Cancer - when does it spread?

Picture cancer spreading
Article Date: 20 Jun 2012 

According to a study published in theMedical Journal of Australia, important information regarding prognosis can now be given to women who are diagnosed with early breast cancer. 

Dr Sarah Lord from the NHMRC Clinical Trials Center at the University of Sydney and her team note that in Australia, 1 in 10 women diagnosed with non-metastaticbreast cancer will develop metastatic cancerwithin five years. However, this figure increases to 1 in 6 women if the cancer has metastasized to adjacent tissue or nearby lymph nodes.

The researchers set out to determine how many women diagnosed with non-metastatic breast cancer develop the metastatic form of the disease by examining 6,644 NSW women who were diagnosed between 2001 and 2002. 

The women were classified into two groups: 

Localized - women with nodenegative tumor confined to breast tissue
Regional - those with spread to adjacent tissues or nearby lymph nodes

Although the risk of metastatic disease was 10% for both groups, the researchers found that only 1 in 20 women with localized cancer subsequently developed metastatic breast cancer (MBC) within 5 years.

According to the researchers, the study findings show that, in addition to underlying tumor biology, the spread of disease at diagnosis continues to be a vital prognostic factor. They explain: "Clinicians can use these estimates to inform women with breast cancer about the average risks of developing MBC."

The team found that women under 50 years of age and those living in areas of lower socio-economic status had the highest risk of developing MBC. Furthermore, women were more likely to be diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in the second year after initial breast cancer diagnosis.

The researchers said: "This information may provide some reassurance for women who completed their primary breast cancer treatment more than 2 years ago and remain recurrence free." 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Hard nipples" - areola or nipple skin

Someone once wrote"... when i get really cold, or get goosebumbs all over my body, the whole things really scrunch up, like, my entire areola scrunches itself up into a wrinkled little mound. it looks really weird and ugly, and i haven't ever seen other people's breasts do it. what is wrong with my areola/nipples??" The answer: Well nothing is wrong. This is what my areola does too. It's a normal reaction to the coldness or to irritation / stimulation. The little muscles in the areola do a similar goosebump thing as your other skin can do. People often call this phenomenon "hard nipples". Also note that skin on areola has less feeling or sensation to it than other areas of your body. If the areola was very sensitive, then breastfeeding would probably be quite uncomfortable because the baby pulls and tugs it! The nipples are sensitive but the sensitivity changes with hormonal changes, such as occur at mestrual cycle or pregnancy. Also this v...
8 comments
Read more

Kate Jackson Breast Cancer a flash back

THE MOST MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN Kate Jackson's life began early one morning in January 1987, during her fourth season on the hit TV series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. After a phone call informed her that the show's taping was canceled because costar Bruce Boxleitner had the flu, Jackson went back to sleep. When she woke several hours later, "It was out of the blue, but perfectly clear," she recalls. "I sat up in bed and literally said, 'You have to have a mammogram.' " She did, and two days later a biopsy confirmed her vague fears: A minute growth found in her left breast was determined to be malignant. "I was forced to face, squared up, my own mortality," says Jackson. "I had to decide whether I wanted to live or to die. And if you choose life, as I did, it's never the same." For three TV seasons 16 years ago, she was famous as Sabrina Duncan, a girl-next-door gone glamorous and the character critics dubbed the brainiest o...
Post a Comment
Read more

The four stages of breast development

In Stage 1 shows the flat breasts of childhood. By Stage 2, breast buds are formed as milk ducts and fat tissue develop. In Stage 3, the breast become round and full, and the areola darkens. Stage 4 shows fully mature breasts. (Illustration by GGS Information Services.) period begins. Usually these signs are accompanied by the appearance of pubic hair and hair under the arms. Once ovulation and  menstruation  begin, the maturing of the breasts begins with the formation of secretory glands at the end of the milk ducts. The breasts and duct system continue to grow and mature with the development of many glands and lobules. The rate at which breasts grow varies significantly and is different for each young woman. Breast development occurs in five stages: Stage One: In preadolescence, the breasts are flat and only the tip of the nipple is raised. Stage Two: Buds appear, breast and nipple are raised, fat tissue begins to form and the areola (dark area of skin that ...
1 comment
Read more