Infiltrating ductal carcinoma

Infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC), formed in the ducts of breast in the earliest stage, is the most common, most heterogeneous invasive breast cancercell type. It accounts for 80% of all types of breast cancer. On a mammography, it is usually visualized as a mass with fine spikes radiating from the edges, and small microcalcificationmay be seen as well. On physical examination, this lump usually feels much harder or firmer than the one with benign breast lesions. On microscopic examination, the cancerous cells invade and replace the surrounding normal tissue inside the breast.

Special histologic subtypes may vary in prognosis, survival, and recurrence rates: the ones with histologyof mucinous, papillary, cribriform, and tubular carcinomashave a better prognosis, longer survival, and lower recurrence rates than those with histology like signet-ring cell carcinoma, carcinoma with sarcomatoid metaplasia, and inflammatory carcinoma.

See also

• Breast cancer

Reference

• Original text from Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiltrating+ductal+carcinoma Wikipedia article Infiltrating ductal carcinoma.