Apathologist(a doctor who studies body tissues) diagnosesbreast cancerby identifying cancer cells in breast tissue.
The tissue may be obtained from surgery or abiopsy(a sample of the abnormal breast tissue).
Once breast cancer is diagnosed, the pathologist performs additional tests on the breast tissue.
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Navigating a breast cancer diagnosis and the wealth of information that comes with it is often overwhelming.
Relevant medical history, like a personal or family history of breast cancer, is also disclosed.
They also report how many lymph nodes were received.
Noninvasive vs. Invasive
This part of the report states whether the cancer is noninvasive or invasive.
Ductalcarcinomain situ (DCIS)is a noninvasive breast cancer that starts and remains in a milk duct.
It’s the earliest form of breast cancer, making up around 20% of new breast cancer diagnoses.
Tumor Stage
Tumor stage refers to the spread or extent of cancer in a person’s body.
Overall, the lower the stage number, the less the cancer has spread.
The pathologist reports “N” as N0, N1, N2, or N3.
The higher the number after N, the more lymph node involvement.
Various blood and imaging tests help determine metastasis.
An aggressive cancer is likely to grow and spread rapidly.
Having LCIS is generally considered a risk factor, not a precancer diagnosis.
Tumors with very few or no estrogen or progesterone receptors are hormone receptor-negative (HR-).
How Common Is Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer?
Approximately 80% of female breast cancer cases are hormone receptor-positive.
(Note that the terms for sex or gender from the cited source are used.)
Different pathology laboratories can have slightly distinct ways of reporting the hormone receptor status of the breast tumor.
Regardless of the unique scoring, the cancer is definitivelyHR-when the score is 0.
Moreover, the higher the number, the more hormone receptors are present on the breast cancer cells.
HER2 is a protein that regulates cell growth and is found on normal cells' surfaces.
FISH detects the number of HER2 gene copies in the cancer cells.
Tumor Margins
Tumor margins are only reported if the breast tumor is surgically removed, not biopsied.
Cancer cells in blood or lymph vessels may suggest a more aggressive cancer.
Specific therapies, however, will not be recommended in the actual report.
Breastcancer.org.Understanding your pathology report.
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