Stage 4 Breast Cancer Spread To Lungs

Symptoms And Diagnosis Of Metastatic Breast Cancer

The most common parts of the body where breast cancer tends to spread are the bones, lungs, brain, and liver. But metastatic breast cancer can affect other parts of the body, as well.

Metastatic breast cancer symptoms can be very different depending on the cancers location, but may include:

• biopsy of any suspicious area

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  a tap, removal of fluid from the area with symptoms to check for cancer cells a pleural tap removes fluid between the lung and chest wall a spinal tap removes fluid from around the spinal cord and a tap of fluid in the abdomen removes fluid in the abdominal cavity

These tests may also be used if you have no history of breast cancer and your doctor is having trouble determining the cause of your symptoms.

When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, its important to confirm whether the cancer has certain characteristics that may influence your treatment options, such as HER2 status and hormone receptor status. If you have been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer years after an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis, it may seem logical to assume that the hormone receptor status and HER2 status are the same. But research has shown that the hormone receptor status and HER2 status of early-stage breast cancer can be different than that of a metastatic recurrence.

A biopsy may be done to determine these factors that can influence your treatment, which will be listed in your pathology report.

Is Metastatic Breast Cancer Curable

Currently there is no cure for metastatic breast cancer. However new and better treatment options mean that the cancer can remain under control for longer, sometimes for years at time.

Those diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer will need to undergo treatment for the rest of their lives. If one treatment ceases to be effective in keeping the cancer under control, another treatment regime may be suggested. These treatments are generally given for as long as they are providing a benefit to the patient. The goal is to maintain the best quality of life achievable, and to prolong life if possible.

Every diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer is different, and therefore each treatment regime and prognosis will be different. Your doctor and/or treatment team are best to advise on your personal medical situation.

Survival Rates By Tnm Stage

The first approach is based on the TNM stage. Statistical survival times are matched to the stage of the disease.

By contrast, the one-year survival rate for stage 4 lung cancer was reported in one study to be between 15% and 19%. This means this portion of patients with metastatic disease lived for at least a year.

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Treatment For Physical Symptoms

The American Cancer Society urge that a person should not have to endure pain in the final months and days of life.

Many people find relief with opioid medications, but these can cause side effects such as fatigue and constipation. A person may use opioids in combination with other pain relief medications, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Other drugs, such as antidepressants and antiseizure medications, can also treat certain types of pain.

Doctors can also prescribe medications for nausea and vomiting. Some drugs for treating nausea can make a person drowsy. However, these drugs may help people eat and drink more or simply make it easier for them to function and interact with other people.

When Can Metastatic Breast Cancer Occur

Most often, metastatic breast cancer arises months or years after a person has completed treatment for early or locally advanced breast cancer. This is sometimes called a distant recurrence.

Some people have metastatic breast cancer when they are first diagnosed . This is called de novo metastatic breast cancer.

Komen Perspectives

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A Note About Sex And Gender

Sex and gender exist on spectrums. This article will use the terms, male, female, or both to refer to sex assigned at birth. .

Stage 4 breast cancer occurs when cancerous cells spread to other areas of the body beyond the breast and local lymph nodes.

The American Cancer Society notes that breast cancer most commonly spreads to the lungs, liver, and bones. It can also spread to other organs, including the distant lymph nodes, skin, and brain.

A doctor may diagnose stage 4 breast as either a new case, referred to as de novo, or as a recurrence of a previous breast cancer.

Factors Influencing Survival Rates

The variability in survival rates highlights one key reality about stage 4 lung cancer: no two people have the same disease. Arguably more than any other stage of the disease, stage 4 lung cancer survival is influenced by multiple factors. Some of these are fixed and others can be changed .

There are seven factors known to influence survival times in people with stage 4 NSCLC.

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Metastatic Breast Cancer Is Terminal

Metastatic breast cancer cant be cured and it is terminal. One thing I didnt know when I was first diagnosed is that breast cancer can only kill you if you have metastatic breast cancer, says Rosen, who explains that if your cancer remains in the breast, the tumor can be removed, but metastatic means it has spread outside the breast.

MBC is almost like a different disease than early-stage breast cancer, adds Ann Silberman, 60, from Sacramento, California, who was diagnosed in 2009. We are going to die. Our concerns are much different from those of a person who has a treatment that will be over . Someone in an earlier stage may worry about losing their hair which is understandable but they will return to their normal life at some point.

People with metastatic breast cancer expect to be on treatment for the rest of their lives. I dont think everyone understands that, Silberman says. I still get, When will your treatment be over? Well, its never going to be over.

Emotional And Spiritual Care

End-of-life care also includes emotional, mental, and spiritual therapy. A personâs healthcare team may include social workers, counselors, mental health professionals, and religious or spiritual advisors.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, up to 40 percent of people with cancer experience serious mental distress. This may include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder .

Medications, therapy, religious or spiritual rituals, and support groups can help a person cope with mental health issues and stress during this difficult time.

Caregivers may also need help with stress, anxiety, and depression. The palliative care team can usually also provide support and advice to caregivers for their emotional needs.

TheBreast Cancer Healthline app provides people with access to an online breast cancer community, where users can connect with others and gain advice and support through group discussions.

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Are There Different Kinds Of Metastatic Breast Cancer

Yes. Metastatic breast cancer means the disease has spread from the original breast cancer site located in the breast. It means it has spread to other organs in the body, most commonly the bones, liver, lungs, or brain. Metastatic breast cancer can be one of four different molecular subtypes Luminal A Breast Cancer), Luminal B Breast Cancer), HER2 positive breast cancer or triple negative breast cancer. The subtype of breast cancer, and the location it has metastasised will determine how the cancer is treated.

The Risk Of Subsequent Lung Cancer In Breast Cancer Patients

During the past 20 years, an increasing number of studies have explored the difference in the risk of lung cancer between breast cancer patients and the general population. After systematically searching for relevant literature, we selected some high-quality studies and have presented them in Table 2.

Utada et al included and analyzed the data of 174,477 cancer patients from the Nagasaki Prefecture Cancer Registry of Japan. Compared to the incidence of lung cancer as the first primary tumor, the risk for subsequent lung cancer in female breast cancer patients increased by approximately 40% .11 Another similar study conducted by Evans et al was based on the Thames Cancer Registry, which collected tumor-related data of residents in southeastern England involving a population of 14 million. They enrolled 112,878 cases and found that the risk of subsequent lung cancer in female breast cancer patients increased by approximately 60% compared with the general population .12 Schaapveld et al drew a similar conclusion by analyzing 58,068 cases, and female breast cancer patients were found to have a much higher risk of second primary lung cancer .13

Based on the above studies, it is relatively credible that breast cancer patients are more likely to develop lung cancer than the general population.

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Metastatic Breast Cancer: What You Should Know

What does it mean to have metastatic, or stage 4, breast cancer? A Rogel Cancer Center oncologist explains the diagnosis and how its treated.

After hearing a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, a rush of questions emerges. But often, its not until long after leaving the doctors office.

Metastatic means the cancer has spread beyond the breast and immediate lymph nodes to other organs or tissues in the body, most often the bones, brain, lungs or liver. Its considered stage 4 breast cancer, which means the cancer has progressed to its most advanced stage.

But even though its moved to other organs, it still behaves like breast cancer and is treated with breast cancer therapies.

More than 154,000 U.S. women are estimated to have metastatic breast cancer, according to the Susan G. Komen organization. Men can have metastatic breast cancer too, but its rare.

To help patients fill in information gaps, N. Lynn Henry, M.D., Ph.D., the breast oncology disease lead for the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, explains the nuances of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

What are the differences between metastatic breast cancer, stage 4 breast cancer and advanced cancer?

If any doctor uses the term advanced, ask for clarification, Henry adds.

When does metastatic breast cancer appear?

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of bone metastases:

Symptoms Of Metastatic Breast Cancer

The symptoms of stage 4 breast cancer depend on the location of the cancer and where it has spread in your body.

• If breast cancer has spread to your bones, you may notice a sudden new bone pain. Breast cancer most commonly spreads to your ribs, spine, pelvis, or arm and leg bones.
• If it has spread to your brain, you may experience headaches, vision or speech changes, or memory problems.
• Breast cancer that has spread to your lungs or liver usually causes no symptoms.

The main treatments for stage 4 breast cancer are targeted drug therapies that destroy cancer cells wherever they are in your body.

These treatments may include:

• hormone therapy, which stops or slows the growth of tumors by preventing your body from producing hormones or interfering with the effect of hormones on breast cancer cells
• chemotherapy, where drugs given orally or through an IV travel through your bloodstream to fight cancer cells
• immunotherapy, which uses drugs that stimulate your immune system to destroy cancer cells
• a combination of these therapies

In some cases, surgery or radiation therapy may be used to treat stage 4 breast cancer.

The following are the common treatment options for different types of stage 4 breast cancer.

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Clinical Trials Are A Promising Treatment Option

For people with advanced stages of cancer, clinical trials can be considered the gold standard of treatment. I recommend clinical trials highly, says Rosen. You get access to medication and treatment that you normally wouldnt have.

A clinical trial could even have positive results on your cancer. We are living in an exciting time for cancer treatment, says Kimmick. There are myriad new drugs coming out that will improve the lives of all women with breast cancer, both metastatic and early stage.

However, its important to be realistic about the potential outcome of your trial. Rosen was recently enrolled in a clinical trial in which the medication proved toxic for her. But she has no regrets about participating. It feels like Im helping researchers who are working on cures for cancer, she says. When I had a bad reaction to the drug, they were able to put my side effects in their study. I feel like I did help, and that makes me happy.

People interested in joining a clinical trial for treatment should talk to their doctor about options that might be good for them.

For Family And Friends

Caring for a loved one with stage 4 breast cancer has special challenges as well. Fortunately, organizations such as CancerCare now offer support groups design for loved ones who are caring for someone with cancer. In addition to caring for yourself , it’s helpful to learn about metastatic breast cancer.

Common things that people learn about cancer usually refer to an early-stage disease, and myths about metastatic breast cancer can be painful for those living with advanced disease. For example, one of the things not to say to someone with metastatic breast cancer is, “When will you be done with treatment?”

For the most part, people with metastatic breast cancer will require some type of treatment for the rest of their lives.

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Is Stage 4 Breast Cancer Curable

Theres currently no cure for stage 4 breast cancer, but with treatments it can be kept under control, often for years at a time.

People with metastatic breast cancer need to receive treatments for the rest of their lives. If a certain treatment stops being effective, another treatment regimen may be tried.

Location And Type Of Lung Cancer

There are many different types and subtypes of NSCLC, some of which are more aggressive than others. The three most common types are:

• Lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of the disease that mainly develops in the outer edges of the lungs
• Squamous cell lung carcinoma, accounts for 25% to 30% of lung cancer cases and develops mainly in the airways
• Large cell lung carcinoma, an uncommon type of NSCLC that can develop anywhere in the lungs and tends to be more aggressive than other types

Research shows that the differences between these types influence survival rates. Moreover, the location of the tumorwhether in the airways or in lung tissues themselvescan also have an impact on survivability.

While research on each NSCLC type in stage 4 is limited, survival rates are generally lower than the reported overall five-year survival rates, consistent with previous data reported.

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Recurrence Of Metastatic Breast Cancer

Metastatic breast cancer is considered a chronic disease, so it doesnt go away and recur.

But in recent years, people under age 50 have seen a particularly strong decline in death rates due to breast cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

These declines are due in part to improved screening and treatment for the disease.

There are a few general facts that are helpful to know about breast cancer outlook:

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in the United States, according to the

Why Does Metastatic Breast Cancer Happen

Most often, metastatic cancer occurs because treatment didnt destroy all the cancer cells. Sometimes, a few cells remain dormant, or are hidden and undetectable. Then, for reasons providers dont fully understand, the cells begin to grow and spread again.

De novo metastatic breast cancer means that at the time of initial diagnosis, the breast cancer has already spread to other parts of the body. In the absence of treatment, the cancer spreads.

There is nothing you can do to keep breast cancer from metastasizing. And metastatic breast cancer doesnt happen because of something you did.

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Additional Information And Declarations

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Siying Chen conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, approved the final draft.

Jin Yang performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, approved the final draft.

Yang Liu performed the experiments, analyzed the data, prepared figures and/or tables, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, approved the final draft.

Haisheng You performed the experiments, analyzed the data, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, approved the final draft.

Yalin Dong conceived and designed the experiments, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, approved the final draft.

conceived and designed the experiments, performed the experiments, analyzed the data, contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools, authored or reviewed drafts of the paper, approved the final draft.

Data Availability

The following information was supplied regarding data availability:

The raw data is available as a Supplemental File.

Many Women Live For Decades With Metastatic Breast Cancer

A stage 4 diagnosis is not an instant death sentence, says Renee Sendelbach, 40, from Austin, Texas, who was diagnosed seven years ago, when she learned that her breast cancer had moved into her lungs, bones, and lymph nodes.

Ive had metastatic breast cancer for five years and Im still kicking, says Susan Rosen, 53, from Franklin, Massachusetts.

According to a 2017 article in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 34 percent of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer have been living with the disease for five years or longer.

The goal of treatment is to keep patients on their feet as long as possible so that they can continue to do what they want to do, says Gretchen Kimmick, MD, associate professor of medicine at the Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, North Carolina.

In recent years, treatment for breast cancer has vastly improved, largely because doctors are able to more accurately target therapy to the type of breast cancer a woman has. The discovery of the HER2 protein and medicines that block it has revolutionized treatment for women with cancers that overexpress this protein, Dr. Kimmick says. This cancer was pretty deadly two decades ago, and now we are starting to debate if weve cured it in some women.

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