The newest edition of the AJCC’s Staging Manual is out and there are some changes to breast cancer staging which took effect January 1, 2010. Several updates in the new edition I felt were good include:
- Moving T0/T1 tumors with only micrometases in the axillary nodes to stage IB from the IIA category.
- Re-affirming the [...]
Knowing the stage of your breast cancer helps your medical team determine how big the cancer is and if it has spread. This helps them guide your therapy and provide reliable prognostic information.
In general, staging is done following your surgery, either after lumpectomy or mastectomy. It usually includes evaluation of the lymph nodes in your [...]
Question: My lumpectomy report says: Invasive ductal carcinoma, two foci, 2.4 cm, combined histologic grade II/III, margins widely free (>5mm), see comment. The comment says there were two tumors, one 1.3 cm and one 0.6 cm, total span 2.4 cm. My question is–my doctor has staged me as IIA (my nodes were negative)–but my [...]
Question: I am confused about my cancer stage as it seems much worse than when I originally had my surgery. Based on the report I asked for, my cancer is an invasive lobular carcinoma and measures 1.3 cm. I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy; my node was negative. My cancer is ER and [...]
Question: My report says “in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma, intermediate grade, 2.4 cm, margins clear” and my lymph node was negative; the cancer is ER positive (80%), PR positive (60%), HER2 negative. My surgeon said I don’t need more surgery but I need to see an oncologist to discuss chemotherapy. I am [...]
Question: My daughter was diagnosed w/trip neg breast cancer two years ago…She was 58, Caucasian, postmenapausal, no family history, on statins and an anti-depressant…Her only known risk factor was being extremely overweight (200+lb)…She had a lumpectomy…Her tumor was large but nodes were clear…she was treated with max chemo and radiation…her case is singular compared to [...]
I have uploaded the Tutorial on Breast Pathology, Part II which covers the basics of invasive carcinoma. As with the other tutorials it is in pdf format. Please feel free to comment or post suggestions for future articles. I hope you find this information useful.
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Question: I was just diagnosed with Stage I invasive lobular carcinoma, 1.4 cm, ER/PR positive and Her2/neu negative. But my doctor told me the pathologists found some cancer cells in my sentinel lymph node, but they were so small that he said they are called “isolated tumor cells.” What does this mean?
The better you understand your pathology report, the better prepared you’ll be to discuss your prognosis and treatment with your team of physicians. While pathology reports vary depending on the laboratory, they are generally divided into the following sections:
Gross Description
Final Diagnosis
Microscopic Description or Comment
