Acute Monocytic Leukemia 5
Acute monocytic leukemia is a subtype of a type of leukemia called acute myeloid leukemia . It develops in blood precursor cells that are on their way to becoming immune-system cells called monocytes, explained Laura Romundstad, a registered nurse who helps patients find clinical trials as a clinical trial nurse navigator with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society . Monocytes are a major part of the innate immune system , she said.
Treatments for acute monocytic leukemia may include chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, or targeted therapies.
How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed
During your regular physical examination, your doctor will take a thorough personal and family medical history. He or she will also perform and/or order one or more of the following:
- Breast examination: During the breast exam, the doctor will carefully feel the lump and the tissue around it. Breast cancer usually feels different than benign lumps.
- Digital mammography: An X-ray test of the breast can give important information about a breast lump. This is an X-ray image of the breast and is digitally recorded into a computer rather than on a film. This is generally the standard of care .
- Ultrasonography: This test uses sound waves to detect the character of a breast lump whether it is a fluid-filled cyst or a solid mass . This may be performed along with the mammogram.
Based on the results of these tests, your doctor may or may not request a biopsy to get a sample of the breast mass cells or tissue. Biopsies are performed using surgery or needles.
After the sample is removed, it is sent to a lab for testing. A pathologist a doctor who specializes in diagnosing abnormal tissue changes views the sample under a microscope and looks for abnormal cell shapes or growth patterns. When cancer is present, the pathologist can tell what kind of cancer it is and whether it has spread beyond the ducts or lobules .
Staging Of Breast Carcinoma
The most widely used clinical staging system for breast carcinoma is the one adopted by both the International Union for Cancer Control and the American Joint Commission on Cancer . It is based on the TNM system and is shown in .666 There are two stage group tables: the anatomic stage group table and the prognostic stage group table. Cancer registries and U.S. physicians must use the prognostic stage group table for reporting. Pathology synoptic reports need only report the biomarker status so that the prognostic stage group table may be appropriately assigned.
A. Sahin, H. Zhang, in, 2014
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What Are The Types Of Breast Cancer
The most common types of breast cancer are:
- Infiltrating ductal carcinoma. This cancer starts in the milk ducts of the breast. It then breaks through the wall of the duct and invades the surrounding tissue in the breast. This is the most common form of breast cancer, accounting for 80% of cases.
- Ductal carcinoma in situ is ductal carcinoma in its earliest stage, or precancerous . In situ refers to the fact that the cancer hasn’t spread beyond its point of origin. In this case, the disease is confined to the milk ducts and has not invaded nearby breast tissue. If untreated, ductal carcinoma in situ may become invasive cancer. It is almost always curable.
- Infiltrating lobular carcinoma. This cancer begins in the lobules of the breast where breast milk is produced, but has spread to surrounding tissues in the breast. It accounts for 10 to 15% of breast cancers. This cancer can be more difficult to diagnose with mammograms.
- Lobular carcinoma in situ is a marker for cancer that is only in the lobules of the breast. It isn’t a true cancer, but serves as a marker for the increased risk of developing breast cancer later, possibly in both or either breasts. Thus, it is important for women with lobular carcinoma in situ to have regular clinical breast exams and mammograms.
Breast Exam By Your Doctor
The same guidelines for self-exams provided above are true for breast exams done by your doctor or other healthcare professional. They wont hurt you, and your doctor may do a breast exam during your annual visit.
If youre having symptoms that concern you, its a good idea to have your doctor do a breast exam. During the exam, your doctor will check both of your breasts for abnormal spots or signs of breast cancer.
Your doctor may also check other parts of your body to see if the symptoms youre having could be related to another condition.
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Top 10 Worst Types Of Cancer To Have
Cancer. Theres a reason people dread hearing the bad C-word from their doctor: its a deadly disease. In fact, cancer is the top cause of death right behind heart attacks and strokes.
If youve never known anyone who died of cancer, you can consider yourself lucky. Most people have family members, friends, or colleagues who developed cancer and died. Cancer is the leading cause of death in the world. There are many different treatments depending on which type of cancer it is, so its important to know the worst types of cancer to know how to treat it.
This list contains the top ten worst types of cancer to have:
What Can Cause Changes In The Breasts
Was that lump there before? Why do my breasts hurt? Should that be happening? When you notice a change in your breast or something doesnt feel quite right, your mind might rush to the worst-case scenario: cancer.
But before you panic, or imagine the worst, keep in mind that there are other aspects of a womans personal health that may cause physical changes in the breast tissue, many of which are unrelated to cancer. One of the best things that women can do to maintain their breast health over time is listen to their bodies, and learn to recognize the physical signs of trouble early on.
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What Are The Warning Signs Of Breast Cancer
- A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
- A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
- A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast.
- A blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple.
- A change in the look or feel of the skin on the breast or nipple .
- Redness of the skin on the breast or nipple.
- An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.
- A marble-like hardened area under the skin.
These changes may be found when performing monthly breast self-exams. By performing breast self-exams, you can become familiar with the normal monthly changes in your breasts.
Breast self-examination should be performed at the same time each month, three to five days after your menstrual period ends. If you have stopped menstruating, perform the exam on the same day of each month.
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Be Aware Before You Donate
The first thing you should do when considering donating is to check with charity watchdog groups that evaluate how well each organization spends the money it receives from contributors-this may be eye opening to you.
Two of the biggest charity watchdogs are Charity Watch and Charity Navigator. Both groups evaluate thousands of charities and non-profit organizations by looking at financial statements, tax reports, program expenses and fundraising costs.
When giving to a charity its important to know your motivation for giving and focus on where you want to make an impact. Once you know this, you can check the financial health and accountability of the organization.
In terms of breast cancer, decide whether you want your money to go for research and finding a cure, support services for cancer patients, helping support families or education and public awareness.
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How Can I Protect Myself From Breast Cancer
Follow these three steps for early detection:
- Get a mammogram. The American Cancer Society recommends having a baseline mammogram at age 35, and a screening mammogram every year after age 40. Mammograms are an important part of your health history. Recently, the US Preventive Services Task Force came out with new recommendations regarding when and how often one should have mammograms. These include starting at age 50 and having them every two years. We do not agree with this, but we are in agreement with the American Cancer Society and have not changed our guidelines, which recommend yearly mammograms starting at age 40.
- Examine your breasts each month after age 20. You will become familiar with the contours and feel of your breasts and will be more alert to changes.
- Have your breast examined by a healthcare provider at least once every three years after age 20, and every year after age 40. Clinical breast exams can detect lumps that may not be detected by mammogram.
Questions To Ask When Donating
The easiest way to be sure that all donations go directly to a breast cancer charity is to give directly to the organization. Donating in person, by mail, or online is also the only way to receive a tax credit for the donation.
With pink ribbon products, the portion of the proceeds that goes directly to breast cancer charities varies. Some companies have faced criticism for using the pink ribbon as a marketing tool while donating very little to the cause itself.
Breast Cancer Actions Think Before You Pink campaign recommends asking several important questions before purchasing pink ribbon products.
How much, if any, of the products proceeds go to a breast cancer charity?
Questions to ask before buying pink include:
- Which organization gets the money?
- Does the organization receiving the proceeds run programs or sponsor research that will help overcome breast cancer?
- Does the company selling the pink ribbon product also support, sell, or manufacture products tied to breast cancer, such as cosmetics containing carcinogenic chemicals?
- Is there a maximum amount that the company have set on their donations to breast cancer charities? Will they notify customers upon reaching this amount?
Bearing these questions in mind will help a person make the most effective decision when buying pink to support a breast cancer charity.
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Research Into Advanced And Metastatic Breast Cancer
As metastatic breast cancer remains the leading cause of death from breast cancer, NBCF is committed to funding a broad spectrum of research that helps to further understand breast cancer metastasis, develop improved treatment options and enhance patient quality of life for those with metastatic breast cancer.
Identification Of Breast Cancer Subtypes By Gep Studies
Subsequent studies revealed that similar molecular subtypes of breast cancer could be identified in multiple cohorts of breast cancers and that luminal cancers could be subclassified into 2 or 3 groups and different molecular subtypes were shown to have distinct clinical outcomes. Sørlie et al investigated the clinical relevance of gene expression profiles in 78 breast carcinoma patients. Of these patients, 51 were part of a prospective study with locally advanced tumors and had received doxorubicin based chemotherapy before the surgery. The authors showed a highly significant difference in overall survival between the subtypes. Both the basal-like and ErbB2-positive subtypes were associated with the shortest survival times. The authors subclassified the luminal-like breast cancer into three subclasses comprising luminal-A, luminal-B and luminal-C and identified luminal-A subgroup of ER-positive tumors as being associated with the best outcome. Vant Veer et al also investigated node-negative breast cancer patients and found 231 genes significantly associated with disease outcome, as defined by the presence of distant metastasis at the 5th year. These data revealed that each breast tumor has its own unique molecular portrait, providing the basis for an improved molecular taxonomy of the disease.
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Survival Rates For Triple
Triple-negative breast cancer is considered an aggressive cancer because it grows quickly, is more likely to have spread at the time its found, and is more likely to come back after treatment than other types of breast cancer. The outlook is generally not as good as it is for other types of breast cancer.
Survival rates can give you an idea of what percentage of people with the same type and stage of cancer are still alive a certain amount of time after they were diagnosed. They cant tell you how long you will live, but they may help give you a better understanding of how likely it is that your treatment will be successful.
Keep in mind that survival rates are estimates and are often based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had a specific cancer, but they cant predict what will happen in any particular persons case. These statistics can be confusing and may lead you to have more questions. Talk with your doctor about how these numbers may apply to you, as he or she is familiar with your situation.
Can Cancer Form In Other Parts Of The Breast
Cancers can also form in other parts of the breast, but these types of cancer are less common. These can include:
- Angiosarcomas. This type of cancer begins in the cells that make up the lining of blood or lymph vessels. These cancers can start in breast tissue or breast skin. They are rare.
- Inflammatory breast cancer. This type of cancer is rare and different from other types of breast cancer. It is caused by obstructive cancer cells in the skins lymph vessels.
- Paget disease of the breast, also known as Paget disease of the nipple. This cancer affects the skin of the nipple and areola .
- Phyllodes tumors. These are rare, and most of these masses are not cancer. However, some are cancerous. These tumors begin in the breasts connective tissue, which is called the stroma.
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Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Of The Breast
Less than 1 in 100 breast cancers are adenoid cystic cancer. This type of cancer is also sometimes called a cribriform cancer. It is a cancer type that is more often diagnosed in the salivary glands, but some develop in the breast tissue.
It is generally seen in older people but has been seen in people as young as 25.
Adenoid cystic breast cancer tends to be slow growing. Doctors usually recommend surgery. Most women dont need to have the whole breast removed . Instead, your doctor will just remove the area of the cancer. This operation is called breast conserving surgery.
The cancer rarely spreads elsewhere in the body. So you donât usually need to have your lymph nodes removed. The risk of this type of tumour coming back is low, so the outlook is good.
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What Are The Treatment Options For Stage 3 Breast Cancer
Another way a doctor may describe stage 3 breast cancer is if its operable or inoperable. This will determine further treatments.
If a cancer is operable, this means a doctor believes most or all of the cancer can be removed with surgery.
Inoperable cancer is still treatable with systemic therapy, but surgery isnt the right option because doctors feel they cant remove enough cancerous cells.
Treatment options for stage 3 breast cancer may include:
- Surgery: known as a mastectomy, to remove cancerous tissue and also to remove lymph nodes
- Hormone therapy: to slow or stop the growth of cancerous cells, if hormones are driving their growth
- Chemotherapy: involves taking medications to kill fast-growing cancer cells
- Targeted therapy: uses your genes to attack cancer cells without harming healthy cells
Your doctor may also recommend a combination of two or more treatments.
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Hormone Receptor Status Influences Breast Cancer Survival Rates
The hormone receptor status of a breast tumour is not usually included in formal discussions of prognosis.
Each breast tumour will potentially have a different hormone receptor status. When a breast cancer tumour tests positive for the hormones estrogen and progesterone, it implies two things:-
Therefore, due to improvements in treatments, overall survival rates will be higher for hormone receptor positive breast tumors than for those that are hormone negative.
Who Is A Candidate For Brca Gene Testing
This should be discussed with your health care provider or treatment team as this information is frequently updated. Guidelines for testing may include
- a personal history of breast cancer diagnosis at a young age, bilateral breast cancer, breast and ovarian cancer diagnosis, or a personal history of ovarian cancer
- family history of breast cancer at a young age or ovarian cancer and a personal history of breast cancer
- family member with bilateral breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or both breast and ovarian cancer
- relative with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and
- a male relative with breast cancer.
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The Types Of Cancer With The Best And Worst Survival Rates
Men with prostate cancer, 85.5 per cent survived for five years, followed 85.4 per cent of women with breast cancer
Cancer survival rates are improving in Grimsby and Cleethorpes but there are still big variations.
Men with prostate cancer have the best survival rate locally with 96.4 per cent of those diagnosed between 2012 and 2016 surviving a year, followed by women with breast cancer, with 95.7 per cent surviving a year.
In comparison, less than half of those diagnosed with oesophagus , stomach , and lung cancers survived a year.
The gap is even bigger when looking at five-year survival rates in the area.
For men with prostate cancer, 85.5 per cent survived for five years, followed 85.4 per cent of women with breast cancer.
This compares to 12.5 per cent of people with lung cancer and 16.2 per cent of people with stomach cancer.
However, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer has significantly improved from 9.6 per cent for those diagnosed between 2007 and 2011.
Overall, five-year survival rates in the area have improved for 11 out of 14 common cancers between 2007 to 2011 and 2012 to 2016.
Estimates are age-standardised to adjust for changes in the age profile of cancer patients over time and differences between geographical areas.
Sarah Caul, Head of Cancer Analysis, said: In general, we have seen an increase in peoples chances of survival across different types of cancer since our estimates for 2006 to 2010.