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Malignant
Hearing that you have a breast tumor can be scary, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the terminology. A tumor is a mass of abnormal tissues. It does not automatically mean cancer. There are two main kinds of tumors: benign, which means the tumor is not cancer and not malignant; and cancerous, or malignant.
Malignant Tumors
Benign tumors are not cancerous, and often do not pose an immediate risk to your health. Sometimes healthcare providers may opt to leave a benign tumor alone instead of removing it. If you are experiencing discomfort, irritation, or pressure, talk with your practitioner, who may refer you to a surgeon to remove it and improve your symptoms.
If a tumor is found to be malignant, you have breast cancer or another form of cancer. Malignant tumors can be aggressive and may spread to other surrounding tissues. They require treatment.
Tumor Grades
Malignant tumors are evaluated and classified according to a designated system based on severity. Your healthcare provider will evaluate how similar the cells are to healthy cells and the shape and size of the cells. They will also look for indications of how quickly the cells split and multiply. With these factors in mind, the tumor is assigned a grade
Treatment
Once a malignant tumor has been diagnosed in the breast, your healthcare provider will recommend a treatment plan tailored to your unique situation. This plan could include a variety of treatments, including
- Surgery: The healthcare provider will remove cancerous tissue from the affected area. How effective surgical procedures are is dependent on the type of cancer and its severity.
- Hormone therapy: The drug tamoxifen is commonly used to block hormones from binding to cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy: High-energy rays are used to kill cancerous cells in a specific area. It is typically administered externally; however, there are internal methods as well.
- Chemotherapy: This therapy includes the use of a chemo agent to kill cancerous cells. You may receive chemotherapy through an infusion directly into your bloodstream. The drugs travel through your body and attack the affected area.
- Targeted therapy: Drugs that target specific proteins on breast cancer cells that help them grow are given to slow the spread of cancer and/or kill cancer cells. These can be given intravenously, under the skin, or orally as a pill. This is used when breast cancer is hormone receptor or HER2-positive, if someone has a BRCA mutation, or in triple-negative breast cancer.
- Immunotherapy: This therapy uses the body's own immune system to identify and kill cancer cells. Different proteins in the immune system are targeted to boost immune response. It can be used to help treat triple-negative breast cancer