Breast Cancer - Causes and Treatment for Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed non-skin cancer in American women. An estimated 213,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. The risk of breast cancer increases as women get older. Over the years, researchers have identified certain characteristics, usually called risk factors, which influence a woman's chance of getting the disease. Still, many women who develop breast cancer have no known risk factors other than growing older, and many women with known risk factors do not develop breast cancer.

Breast cancer incidence is much higher in the Western world, whether in Europe or North America, than in third world countries. North American women have the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world. Among women in the U.S., breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second-most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer). Women in the U.S. have a 1 in 8 (12.5%) lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and a 1 in 35 (3%) chance of breast cancer causing their death.

Breast cancer affects one in eight women during their lives. Breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any cancer except lung cancer. No one knows why some women get breast cancer, but there a number of risk factors.

Causes of Breast Cancer


The genes in cells carry the hereditary information that is received from a person’s parents. Hereditary breast cancer makes up approximately 5% to 10% of all breast cancer. Some altered genes related to breast cancer are more common in certain ethnic groups.

Researchers are now trying to discover whether a relationship exists between a person's genetic makeup and environmental factors that may increase the risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer eventually may prove to have a number of causes.

Age at time of reproductive events — During a woman's reproductive years, estrogen stimulates cells of the breast's glandular tissue to divide. The longer a woman is exposed to estrogen, the greater her risk for breast cancer. Estrogen exposure is increased if a woman began menstruating at or before 11 years of age, or if she experiences menopause at age 55 years or older.

Besides BRCA1 and BRCA2, there are other mutated genes that may make it easier for a person to get breast cancer. Scientists know about some of these genes, and they are working to identify others

Treatment for Breast Cancer


Surgery: Today, radical mastectomy is rarely performed. Instead, the majority of women are candidates for simple mastectomy or lumpectomy. If you decide on mastectomy, you may opt for breast reconstruction.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. The size of the tumor, characteristics of the cancer cells, and extent of spread of the cancer help determine your need for chemotherapy. If your cancer has a high chance of returning or spreading to another part of your body, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy after surgery to decrease the chance that the cancer will recur. This is known as adjuvant chemotherapy. If your cancer has already spread to other parts of your body, chemotherapy may be recommended to try to control the cancer and decrease any symptoms the cancer is causing.

Simple mastectomy: During a simple mastectomy, your surgeon removes all your breast tissue — the lobules, ducts, fatty tissue and skin, including the nipple and areola. Depending on the results of the operation and follow-up tests, you may also need further treatment with radiation to the chest wall, chemotherapy or hormone therapy.

Cancers may be referred to as invasive if they have spread to other tissues. Those that do not spread to other tissues are called noninvasive. Carcinoma in situ is a noninvasive cancer.

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