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What Is Papillary Carcinoma Of The Breast?
Invasive papillary carcinoma of the breast is a rare form of breast cancer that represents only 1 percent of the all breast cancers. This rare cancer only affects older women who have already been through menopause. An invasive papillary carcinoma is a tumor, which has well defined borders. Invasive papillary carcinoma has small projects that are finger-like. Invasive papillary carcinoma is usually a grade 2, which means it is moderate in its ability to spread. Invasive papillary carcinoma usually stays confined the milk duct of the breast. When invasive papillary carcinoma is present so is ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a more common breast cancer that also remains in the breast mild ducts. There is also invasive ductal carcinoma, which is the spreadable kind, but that is not present with invasive papillary carcinoma. However, the treatment plans will be the same for both types of cancers.
Treatment for papillary carcinoma
There are two main categories of treatment for invasive papillary carcinoma
Local treatments for invasive papillary include surgery and radiation therapy. Surgery is required to take the tumor out. However, the doctor will check to see if the lymph nodes have been affected. It is important to work with the doctor to ask questions about the surgery and which is the right surgery for you. This surgery of course is based on the stage of the cancer, if it has spread beyond the ducts, and if invasive papillary carcinoma is present with other breast cancers. The surgeon would most often perform a lumpectomy, which is a procedure to remove the tumor, some healthy tissue, and any lymph nodes that may be cancerous. The other type of surgery possible is a partial mastectomy where the portion of the breast that contains the invasive papillary carcinoma is removed. A total mastectomy would include the removal of the entire breast. Even less common is the procedure called a radical mastectomy where the entire breast, the lining of the chest wall muscle, and the lymph nodes under the arms are taken out. This type of surgery is rarely done these days because the less evasive surgeries work just as well.
Before doing anything more than a lumpectomy for invasive papillary carcinoma, you doctor would want to do a sentinel lymph node biopsy. The procedure examines the very first lymph node called the sentinel node that will drain the fluid away from the invasive papillary carcinoma. If this sentinel lymph node contains cancer than other lymph nodes will have it as well.
After surgery many doctors will order radiation therapy to serve as a preventative measure to stifle any new cancer cells from growing. Radiation therapy is most commonly used after a lumpectomy or a partial mastectomy and not as often for a total mastectomy. Though it can be used in combination with chemotherapy.
Systemic treatments
Local therapies will target just the area, which is affected with the papillary carcinoma or other cancers, whereas systemic therapies will work through the entire system. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy. This treatment form is often given after surgery when the tumors are large or when the cancer cells have traveled the lymphatic system. Chemotherapy will be used in conjunction with surgery to shrink the tumors before surgery. However, it all depends upon the medical condition of the patient. If a patient has heart disease for example, certain drugs cannot be used in the chemotherapy mix.
Hormonal therapy is also used. These drugs target estrogen, which is known to spur on cancer cell growth. Some of the drugs will target the receptors and block the production of estrogen. Other drugs just as Avastin will target a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to prevent it from producing more cancer cells vessels which needed for oxygen.