Types Of Breast Cancer

There are several different types of breast cancer. Some cancer diagnoses are followed by the words in situ, meaning the cancer is contained to a single area, such as a milk duct or lobule, and shows no sign of invasion. If the cancer breaks through the basement membrane that lines the cells from the surrounding lobules or ducts, it is called infiltrating or invasive carcinoma. From there, the cancer can spread to blood vessels, lymph nodes and other parts of the breast. If not detected early, it also can spread to other parts of the body.

The most common types of breast cancer include:

- Infiltrating (or invasive) ductal carcinoma. This form of breast cancer is by far the most common, accounting for 70 to 80 percent of all cases, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). As the mass grows, it can lead to a dimpling of the breast or the nipple retracting inward.

- Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Also known as intraductal carcinoma or non-invasive ductal carcinoma, DCIS refers to cancer cells confined to the milk duct of the breast with no evidence of invasion into the surrounding tissues. DCIS is now a common diagnosis due to the widespread use of screening mammography and usually shows up as calcifications on the mammogram. In situ cancers are noninvasive and are considered the earliest stage of breast cancer.

- Infiltrating (or invasive) lobular carcinoma. This invasive type of breast cancer can be difficult to detect because it often appears as a thickening within the breast and not a clearly defined mass. A small number of women diagnosed with infiltrating lobular carcinoma will develop the disease in both breasts. Lobular carcinoma accounts for less than 10 percent of invasive breast cancers, according the American Cancer Society (ACS).

- Inflammatory breast cancer. This form of the disease is considered a highly malignant type of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer can spread rapidly producing symptoms of swelling and redness and skin that is warm to the touch. The ACS estimates that approximately 1 to 3 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses are inflammatory breast cancer.

- Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Also known as noninvasive lobular carcinoma, LCIS is more common among premenopausal women and often develops in both breasts or in several areas of one breast. Very few women diagnosed with LCIS develop an invasive form of breast cancer.

In addition to the more common forms of breast cancer, there are other rarer types of invasive breast cancers. These are:

- Paget’s disease. This disease is slow-growing cancer of the areola (pink area around the nipple) and nipple. Starting in the milk ducts of the nipple, Paget’s disease eventually grows onto the nipple itself. It is sometimes mistaken for eczema as it can create itchiness or a crusty appearance around the nipple. This form of breast cancer accounts for about 1 percent of all cases of breast cancer, according to the ACS.

- Medullary carcinoma. This type of infiltrating cancer is characterized by large cancer cells and a distinct margin between cancerous and normal tissue. It accounts for less than 5 percent of breast cancers, according to the ACS.

- Tubular carcinoma. This invasive cancer is a slow-growing form of breast cancer that is tube-shaped. It accounts for approximately 2 percent of all breast cancers, according to the ACS.

- Mucinous (colloid) cancers. This type of breast cancer contains a mucous protein within the cancer cells.

Other, extremely rare breast cancers include:

- Angiosarcoma, which is sometimes referred to as hemangiosarcoma
- Phyllodes tumor, which is normally seen in women of middle age who have a prior medical history of fibroadenomas
- Primary lymphoma

The NCI labels these as tumor subtypes that occur in the breast, but are not considered typical breast cancers.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men, excluding skin cancer, and is the second leading cause of cancer death. Risk factors include age (incidence increases in men over the age of 65 years). It is more prevalent in the western world and 10% of cases can be linked to family history.Prostate cancer is a continuum, progressing through localised, locally advanced, advanced and hormone-refractory stages. In general it is a slow growing cancer which is primarily under hormonal control i.e. testosterone. Choice of treatments which include watchful waiting, surgery (prostatectomy), radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are dependent on the stage of disease.If detected early, using PSA determination, DRE examination and biopsies, and treated appropriately, survival rates are excellent.

Pathology of Prostate Cancer

Carcinogenesis is a multi-step accumulation of genetic lesions that may eventually result in uncontrolled cellular proliferation, and/or a decrease in cell death or apoptosis. When a normal prostate cancer cell loses the ability to respond to the usual controls that regulate cell division, it proliferates out of control. As the cancer growth progresses, the cells become less specialised, or less well differentiated, and the cancer becomes more dangerous.

The tumour can spread through invasion of local tissues, or through cells breaking away from the primary tumour and travelling through the lymphatic or circulatory systems to infect other parts of the body – a process called metastatic spread.The causes of prostate cancer are not clear, but androgens, mainly testosterone, are thought to play a part in initiating and promoting prostate cancer. Various growth factors, such as epidermal growth factor and insulin growth factor, may also play a role. Mutations in the androgen receptor are also believed to contribute to the development and/or progression of prostate cancer and are known to play a role in the progression of hormone-sensitive cancers to hormone insensitivity.

At least 95% of prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas, meaning that they arise in the glandular tissue derived from the epithelial cells of the prostate gland rather than the supporting, connective structures. Most prostate cancers (60–70%) arise in the peripheral zone of the prostate gland, with 5–15% arising in the central zone and the remainder developing in the transition zone.Prostate cancers are usually slow-growing. Microscopic foci (groups) of ‘latent’ prostate cancer cells have been detected in almost one-third of men over 50 years of age.

However, in many cases the disease does not reach a stage where it becomes clinically significant. This means that though many older men may die with prostate cancer, they do not necessarily die from prostate cancer.Attempts have been made to identify the ‘premalignant’ cells that progress to invasive cancer. The most likely candidate identified thus far is prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). PIN appears to be associated with a higher risk of developing cancer:
- autopsy studies reveal that PIN precedes the development of cancer by 10 years
- in a controlled study of 100 patients with high-grade PIN, 36% developed prostate cancer within 24 months, compared with only 13% of patients without PIN.

Breast Cancer

What is Breast Cancer?
Cancers occur when abnormal cells grow in an uncontrolled way. Almost all breast cancers occur in women - very few occur in men.
The cancer usually begins as a small lump in a breast and then grows, either slowly or quickly.

It can also spread to other parts of the body after a period of time. Early diagnosis is the key to survival.
In fact, most lumps in the breast are not cancers, they are benign and don't spread to other parts of the body. However, every lump in the breast needs careful checking by a healthcare professional.
Tumours can therefore be described as benign or malignant.
Benign tumours do not spread, but malignant tumours, as in breast cancer, are made up of cells that can spread to and damage other parts of the body.

How do you get Breast Cancer?
Although the exact causes of breast cancer have yet to be identified, the risk increases gradually with age and for certain people there may be a family hereditary (genetic) component.
Doctors know that 1 in 10 women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.
Three-quarters of women who develop it do so after the menopause.
Some other things are known to increase the risk such as early puberty/late menopause, not having children or having a first child after the age of 30 years.
The risk can actually be lower if you have a short menstrual life, large family or first child before age 18 years.

How serious is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is potentially a very serious condition and can be life-threatening.
Early detection of breast cancer is therefore vital as it increases the chances of successful treatment.
Community screening programmes and mammograms are key to early detection and are integral tools in the fight against breast cancer.
Self-examination is also important and women should check their breasts regularly. If there are any changes in size or shape, lumps, tenderness or nipple discharge then a healthcare professional should be consulted.

How long does Breast Cancer last?
Doctors know that breast cancer develops in phases from early to advanced stages (when it has spread to other organs). The earliest stage may have taken only a few weeks to develop before it is detected. Early treatment, possibly involving surgery and radiation combined with drug treatment, is very important and will probably take several months. Hormone therapy may then be continued for a longer period.If a tumour is malignant this can form new tumours that doctors call a recurrence, secondaries or metastases.
The common places for breast cancer to spread are the bones (back or hips), the lungs, the liver and sometimes the brain
Recurrences do not occur in every woman who has had breast cancer and they do not occur in all of the places mentioned, usually only one place is affected.

How is Breast Cancer treated?
Typically, treatment of breast cancer will involve surgery followed by a combination of chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and radiation. However, treatment can vary greatly from patient to patient depending on the stage of the cancer and whether recurrence has occurred.
-Surgery: Removal of the lump (called a lumpectomy) is the preferred technique. Removal of lymph nodes in the armpit may be undertaken as well. Removal of the breast (called a mastectomy) is only performed if absolutely necessary.
-Chemotherapy: Medicines that interfere with cancer cell growth and division are administered to reduce the size of tumours or kill them.
-Hormonal therapy: Hormones are chemical signals which are released by different parts of the body and can carried in the blood to some other area to have an effect. Oestrogen is a sex hormone that promotes the growth of some breast cancers. Hormonal treatments, such as anti-oestrogens, aromatase inhibitors or LHRH analogues, are designed to block the effects of oestrogen or its production, which stops or slows the growth of cancer cells.
-Radiation therapy: X-rays or other high-energy rays are applied to the tumour and surrounding areas to destroy cancer cells.

Large Scale Fires Disperse Asbestos

The Health Protection Agency has published a report about the potential health impact and levels of asbestos exposures from large scale fires. Asbestos causes a number of diseases and, in particular, is linked to the development of mesothelioma and lung cancer. The import, supply and use of asbestos was banned in 1999, but due to its extensive use in the building industry it is still found in many locations.

Large scale fires involving materials containing asbestos are relatively common in the UK and can cause significant public concern. This report explores the potential public health consequences of such incidents by reviewing the available evidence.

Professor Gary Coleman, Head of the Agency's Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division said "The available evidence was reviewed and this indicates that the levels of exposure to asbestos experienced by members of the public, following fires involving materials containing asbestos, will be very small. There is no direct evidence of long-term health risks, such as development of mesothelioma and lung cancer, from fires involving materials containing asbestos, and this risk is thought to be minimal provided that appropriate clean-up operations are undertaken."

The report found that a number of factors help to reduce exposure of the general public to asbestos following a fire involving materials containing asbestos. For example, not all the materials containing asbestos in a building may be involved in a fire; fibres may become trapped in larger pieces of material stopping them from being released into the environment; asbestos fibres which can be breathed in only make-up a part of the total released; some fibres may disintegrate due to the high temperatures in the fire; the weather, such as wind and rain, will affect local air concentrations; and the duration of exposure to asbestos during a fire will usually be short.

Pericardial Mesothelioma

Pericardial mesothelioma is also known as mesothelioma of the pericardium or cancer of the sac that holds the heart.
Your doctor may diagnose this cancer using a thoracoscope to perform a thoracoscopy, which might also involve opening up the chest cavity to remove the tumor.
Patients who develop excessive fluid around the heart, called an effusion, may have a sample of the fluid taken to diagnose pericardial mesothelioma. Fluid might also be drained to relieve symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma. The procedure for drawing out this fluid is called “pericardiocentesis.”
For more information about the diagnosis of this disease, click here.

Symptoms

Symptoms can include chest pain and shortness of breath. The tumor and/or fluid that accumulates between the heart and the sac can compress the heart, causing such symptoms