Diagnosis of breast cancer in our time becomes critical, because of the timely detection of the disease depend on the effectiveness of treatment, quality and duration of life of patients. Particular attention is given to screening - active detection of breast cancer among women.

The main tasks of screening for breast cancer (BC)

The primary goal of screening is to detect breast cancer in its early stages, when there are no symptoms. The value of early detection of the disease is that it becomes possible to detect cancer at a stage when it is purely a local (local) and can be cured. This skrinningovye methods used should be simple, painless, inexpensive and quite informative. These methods include mammography screening - X-rays of the breast, which is now widely used for detection of breast cancer.

They can be used as screening methods such as clinical examination of the breast self-examination and physician breast woman. Putting into practice skrinningovyh methods resulting in improved detection of breast cancer at early stages (including the zero stage when cancer cells from the not yet formed tumors) and to enhance the treatment of this disease.

Clinical examination of mammary glands doctor

Clinical examination of mammary glands doctor - an effective way to detect breast cancer. It can be conducted in the presence of a woman's complaints by the mammary glands, and at routine inspections. This examination of women between 20 and 40 years should be carried out every three years after that age - once a year.

Women of reproductive age the doctor examines the fifth-seventh day of the menstrual cycle The days of the menstrual cycle: Four phases And postmenopausal women - at a certain day of the month. Palpation of the breast allows you to identify and determine the approximate size of the tumor.

X-rays of the breasts - Mammography and ductography

The diagnostic accuracy of mammography - 75-95%. Mammography reveals tumor formation less than 1 cm in diameter, infiltrative ductal carcinoma stage I in 50-70% of cases, preinvasive (not prone to spreading) breast cancer.

If the nipple appear allocation, then held ductography - X-ray of the milk ducts to the introduction of a contrast agent. This study reveals a change in the breast duct intraductal breast cancer.

Ultrasonography

Ultrasound is not used as a screening, since the accuracy is not more than 85%. Tumors less than 1 cm in diameter with ultrasound can not identify. With ultrasound you can specify the state near a tumor of the lymph nodes, identify cysts.

One of the modern methods of ultrasound - ultrasound elastography (Sonoelastography) to distinguish benign from malignant degree of flexibility and elasticity.

Magnetic resonance imaging

MRI is often used today to diagnose breast cancer, especially in pregnant women who can not do X-rays. MRI is highly accurate and complete security. It is also used in cases when it is necessary to clarify the changes on mammograms, clinical implications are not fully understood. MRI can help confirm the diagnosis, and if a woman is categorically refuses biopsy.

Sometimes MRI Policy Pay women with multiple metastases when the primary focus of undetected disease in the breast - it allows you to identify even small tumor that caused metastases Metastasis - danger everywhere .

Laboratory Methods

Cytological study (study cell neoplasm) is carried out for all nodules, defined in the breast tissue. Fence material for research conducted by needle biopsy - tumor is punctured with a fine needle and the contents of the tumor taken using a syringe. Then the cellular composition of punctate examined under a microscope. This allows you to distinguish between malignant tumor Malignant tumor: cells are mad   from benign. The reliability of the method is 98%. Modern techniques also allow us to determine the degree of malignancy of the tumor and its content of estrogen receptor (ER). The latter figure is necessary for the utterance of the application of hormone therapy Hormone therapy - is it possible to fool nature? .

Conducted a study of tumor markers, for example, determined the blood levels of CA 15 - 3 - a substance that appears in the blood in breast cancer.

Diagnosis of breast cancer today is emphasized: the identification of the disease in the early stages greatly increases the quality of life and survival of women.

Galina Romanenko

How to identify breast cancer - this question is very often women. There are certain signs of breast cancer Signs of breast cancer - unusual manifestations   and precancerous lesions, which can reveal the woman. At the slightest suspicion of breast cancer, she should see a doctor - to distinguish benign from malignant breast disease his task.

How to determine the breast cancer woman herself

Breast cancer can manifest itself in different ways. This largely depends on the form and stage of the cancer disease. But all this will understand the doctor, a woman also needs time to notice signs of trouble and immediately seek medical attention. Cheerleaders are a woman the symptoms common to all forms of cancer.

First of all, regarding suspicious breast cancer Breast cancer - the verdict?   It is the emergence of a limited area of ​​the breast skin wrinkling. The fact that breast cancer in the body increases the content of female sex hormones estrogen, cause the growing mammary ductal epithelium. This tumor grows in the direction of the skin and subcutaneous tissue grows, so the skin over it becomes wrinkled or drawn. Swelling of the skin follicles and the expansion of the tumor leads to the formation of so-called "orange peel" - rough porous skin. The skin over the tumor can change its color, become brownish, cyanotic, yellowish, and so on.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the state of the nipple and areola (the areola). In the propagation of the tumor through the ducts formed nipple retraction. In some forms of cancer in the nipple sores appear. Breast cancer is also often accompanied by the appearance of discharge from the nipple of a different nature - from the clear watery to bloody.

When palpation of the breast can be detected a small painless knot with irregular contours. Soreness node will talk more about its purity. In normal mammary gland can be moved in relation to the pectoral muscles, if that does not happen, and should seek medical attention. When breast cancer Breast cancer: what every woman needs to know   It can be enlarged axillary lymph nodes.

Sometimes the cancer manifests itself in the form of a long and hard flowing mastitis (inflammation of the breast). This form of cancer often occurs in the elderly.

Changing the shape of the breast can be seen best in the mirror - one of the mammary glands can be increased, decreased, to change its shape, and so on. All this requires a visit to a doctor-mammologu.

How to determine the breast cancer doctor mammolog

An experienced physician mammolog already on the basis of one survey may be suspected breast cancer. But this diagnosis should always be confirmed by additional research.

First of all, it performed ultrasonography (US) of the mammary glands, which allows you to identify the size of the tumor and its configuration. But ultrasound can not be determined, it is benign or malignant formation. Today, there is a method of ultrasound elastography (or Sonoelastography), which can significantly improve the diagnosis of breast diseases. The method is based on the fact that different tissue changes alter its properties, including elasticity, the degree of which determines the ultrasound elastography. So, for benign tumors, inflammatory processes, diseases dishormonal characterized by high elasticity, while malignant neoplasms less flexible, more rigid, and sometimes their rigidity can be dozens of times higher than normal.

Be sure to also performed X-ray examination of the breast - a mammogram Mammography - protection against breast cancer And, if necessary, and ductography - with the introduction of X-ray contrast agent in the breast ducts. Sometimes, to clarify the diagnosis is carried out computer and magnetic resonance tomography.

Blood tests for tumor markers is not an accurate method, but it sometimes lead. Onkomarkery called proteins, which are produced only the tumor and absent in healthy women.

The final diagnosis is made after a needle biopsy - taking the content of the tumor to a study by the puncture. Held cytology biopsy to detect abnormal (cancerous) cells.

If breast cancer is confirmed, the woman sent to the Oncology Center for further examination (reveals extent of the tumor to the surrounding and distant organs) and treatment.

Breast cancer - a disease that lends itself well to treatment in the early stages, but advanced cases of cancer are treatable with difficulty. Therefore, it is important to promptly detect cancer at the beginning of the disease.

Galina Romanenko