Breast cancer is almost entirely in women, but men can get breast cancer, too. According to GLOBOCAN 2008, breast cancer was a second lead cancer with 10.9% after lung cancer and about 6.0% of deaths were due to breast cancer.
Most breast lumps are benign, do not metastasis. Breast cancer can be ductal, that begins in the milk ducts to the nipples. Lobular breast cancer, glands that make breast milk. Other types like phyllodes tumor and angiosarcoma are less common. Breast cancer can spread through blood lymph to other parts of the body include the remaining breast tissue, bones, brain, bone marrow, and lungs.
The most common signs of breast cancer are painless lump-mass, usually, the lump is accidentally felt during washing. Short time and fast-growing mass with irregular edges are more likely to be cancer but can be tender, soft, or round. Lumps can even be painful. It is advised to women with new breast mass-lump-breast change to have breast screening. Other possible symptoms and signs of breast cancer, consist of: breast swelling, skin dimpling looks like an orange peel, breast-nipple pain, nipple retraction, redness of breast, dry, flaking or thickened skin, nipple discharge blood-colored fluid as well as swelling of lymph nodes under the arm or around the collar bone. In case of relatively long-standing carcinoma of the breast, the inquiry must be made regrading pain at the back and hip or shoulder, such pain may be due to bone metastasis of the carcinoma of the breast.
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The following nonmodifiable risk factors of breast cancer are things that cannot change, are the strong menace breast cancer to occur.
Being born female is the main risk factor for risk for breast cancer, males also can get, too, but women are much more at risk.
Advanced age, the older the women the higher the risk of breast cancer women and more pronounced at age 55 and above. Rarely it may occur earlier unless breast cancer is of a familiar type, so the age should not be the criterion to exclude the diagnosis of breast cancer.
Genes mutation and mutated genes inheritance, having a certain mutated gene or having the overexpressed genes or certain receptors strongly increase the risk of breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation is the most common cause of hereditary breast cancer, good enough only 5-10% of women having born with mutated genes. In normal cell growth, the BRCA gene is needed for DNA repair, for typical programmed cell growth and death. Being mutated, lead to uncontrolled somatic cells proliferation, differentiation and specialization, which may lead to breast carcinoma. According to the American Cancer Society, on average, a woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation has up to a 7 in 10 chance of getting breast cancer by age 80. This risk is also affected by how many other family members have had breast cancer. Other gene mutations are much less common, and most of them do not increase the risk of breast cancer as much as the BRCA genes. The ATM, TP53, CHEK2, PTEN, CDH, STK11, PALB2 genes normally help repair damaged DNA or helps kill the cell if the damaged can’t be fixed. Inheriting one abnormal copy of this gene has been linked to a high rate of breast cancer in some families. The BRCA 1&2 genes code for two proteins which is a tumor suppressor and tumor repair. Also, overexpression of the erb B(HER-2) gene increases the risk of breast cancer of approximately 30%.
Family history of breast cancer, often women who get breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease, but who have a first-degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer almost doubles a woman’s risk, having two increases her risk about 3-fold.
A personal history of contralateral breast cancer, having treated breast cancer, increased the risk of breast cancer to the same woman, contrarily from recurrent breast cancer.
Race and ethnicity, White, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American women are less likely to develop breast cancer than African and have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer. ( Breast cancer more common in developed countries, there may be a link between diets rich in saturated fatty acids and breast cancer. Also common in nulliparous women and who have refused to breastfeed their baby (s). The disease is less common in underdeveloped countries where women give birth to the multiple children’s)
Taller women have a higher risk of breast cancer than shorter women, this isn’t exactly clear, but it may have something to do with factors that affect early growth, such as nutrition early in life, as well as hormonal or genetic factors.
Women with dense breast tissue, Breast is made up of fatty tissue, fibrous tissue, and glandular tissue. When appearing denser, they have more glandular and fibrous tissue and less fatty tissue. A number of factors can affect breast density, such as age, menopausal status, hormone therapy, pregnancy, and genetics.
Benign breast conditions, Women with certain benign breast conditions may have a higher risk of breast cancer, includes; Fibrosis, Mild hyperplasia, non-sclerosing Adenosis, Phyllodes tumor (benign), etc.
Early menstrual periods, earlier especially before age 12 have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. It is maybe due to having many menses and longer lifetime exposure to the hormone’s estrogen and progesterone. Late menopause, after age 55 has a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. It is maybe due to having many menses and longer lifetime exposure to the hormone’s estrogen and progesterone.
Chest radiation therapy, women who underwent radiation therapy to the chest for cancer such as Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma at a young age have a significantly higher risk for breast cancer.
Diethylstilbestrol exposure (DES), From the 1940s through the early 1970s some pregnant women were given an estrogen-like drug called DES because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby (miscarriage). These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES during pregnancy may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.
Modifiable lifestyle or possible risk factor related to breast carcinoma. These risk factors are related to personal behaviors, such as diet and exercise as well as the decisions about having children and taking medicines that contain hormones.
Drinking alcohol is clearly linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Women who have 1 alcoholic drink a day have up to 10% increase in risk compared with non-drinkers, while women who have 2 to 3 drinks a day have about a 20% higher risk than non-drinkers.
Being overweight or obese after menopause increases breast cancer risk. Before menopause ovaries make most of the estrogen, and fat tissue makes only a small part of the total amount. After menopause, most of a woman’s estrogen comes from fat tissue lead to raise estrogen levels and increase breast cancer chances. Also, women who are overweight tend to have insulinemia that linked to some cancers, including breast cancer. The estrogens synthesized from the fat binds to the receptors on the epithelial cell which in turn release TGF-α, EGF, PDGF which function as autocrine to the progression of breast cancer.
Physically inactive, it is preferred, that even a couple of hours a week might be helpful, although more is much as 150min of moderate or 75min of vigorous intensity. Physical activity has effects on body weight, inflammation, hormones, and energy balance.
Breastfeeding may slightly lower breast cancer risk, especially if it’s continued for a year or more. Since it reduces a woman’s total number of lifetime menses with less exposure to estrogen and progesterone.
Birth control methods use hormones, Oral contraceptives pills, Birth control shots, Birth control implants, intrauterine devices (IUDs), skin patches, vaginal rings have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer than women who have never used them and could fuel breast cancer growth. Postmenopause hormonotherapy, use of combined hormone therapy after menopause increases the risk of breast cancer, the risk seems to go back down within 5 years of stopping treatment. Bioidentical hormone therapy, have the same health risks as any other type of hormone therapy.
The following are disproven or controversial risk factors. They are not linked to breast cancer, but someone can see the information online to hear from others, the facts are.
Antiperspirants, rumors have suggested that, when applied underarm, are absorbed through the skin, interfere with lymph circulation, and cause toxins to build up in the breast, eventually leading to breast cancer. There is little if any reason to believe that antiperspirants increase the risk of breast cancer.
Bras cause breast cancer by obstructing lymph flow. There is no good scientific or clinical basis for this claim, and a 2014 study of more than 1,500 women found no association between wearing a bra and breast cancer risk.
Induced abortion: Several studies have provided very strong data that neither induced abortions nor spontaneous abortions have an overall effect on the risk of breast cancer.
Conclusion
October is the world breast cancer awareness month. To all women get to and stay a healthy weight, being physically active, limit/avoid alcohol intake, diet, when necessary talk to your health provider on the safer option for treatment of menopause symptoms. High-risk women do genetic counseling and test for possible genes, do self-assessment and yearly screening earlier signs and symptoms and the use of preventive therapy as far as oncologist recommendation.
