Breast Cancer Comprehensive Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, staging criteria, anatomical landmarks, diagnostic methods, and therapies from the breast cancer study material.

Breast cancer

A cancer that starts in the cells of the breast.

Edwin Smith Papyrus

An ancient Egyptian text dating back to approximately 1600 BC that contains the oldest description of cancer, including 8 cases of breast tumors or ulcers treated by cauterization.

Halsted radical mastectomy

A surgical procedure initiated by William Stewart Halsted in 1882 involving the removal of lymph nodes, breast tissue, and underlying chest muscle.

Suspensory ligaments of Cooper

Fibrous bands that divide the breast parenchyma into 12 to 20 separate lobules of glandular tissue.

Axillary tail of Spence

An extension of breast tissue that reaches into the deep fascia superior and lateral to the breast.

Long thoracic nerve

A nerve located medially in the axilla beneath the investing fascia of the serratus anterior; injury to this nerve causes winging of the scapula on arm extension.

Intercostobrachial nerve

A nerve supplying the skin of the axilla and upper arm that is frequently sacrificed during axillary node dissection, resulting in cutaneous numbness.

Level I axillary nodes

Axillary lymph nodes located lateral to the pectoralis minor muscle.

Level II axillary nodes

Axillary lymph nodes located behind the pectoralis minor muscle.

Level III axillary nodes

Axillary lymph nodes located medial to the pectoralis minor muscle.

BRCA1 and BRCA2

Breast cancer susceptibility genes whose inherited defects place carriers at a $30-40\%$ increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Immune surveillance

A theory proposing that the body's immune system continuously recognizes and removes malignant cells throughout an individual's lifetime.

Angiogenesis

The process by which tumors induce the growth of new blood vessels by secreting growth factors to facilitate further cancer growth.

Invasive ductal carcinoma

A malignant cancer originating in the milk-producing ducts of the breast, constituting the most common pathologic type of breast cancer.

Invasive lobular carcinoma

A malignant form of cancer that originates in the lobules of the breast.

Well-differentiated tumor

A low-grade tumor composed of organized cells that closely resemble normal tissue.

Poorly differentiated tumor

A high-grade tumor composed of disorganized cells that do not look like normal tissue.

Immunohistochemistry

A diagnostic testing method used to evaluate the expression or detectable effect of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2/neu proteins in breast tissue.

TNM classification

The standard staging scheme for breast cancer based on primary Tumor characteristics, regional Lymph Node involvement, and distant Metastases.

Inflammatory breast cancer

A form of ductal carcinoma occurring when cancer cells invade dermal lymphatics, presenting with pain, swelling, warmth, redness, and skin dimpling.

Peau d'orange

An orange peel texture of the breast skin caused by cancer cell invasion into dermal lymphatics.

Paget's disease of the breast

A condition presenting with eczematoid skin changes such as redness, mild flaking, tingling, itching, and burning of the nipple skin.

Mastodynia

Pain in the breast, which is an unreliable indicator for breast cancer but may be indicative of other breast-related health issues.

Mammographic breast density

A high ratio of connective and glandular tissue to fat in the breast, which appears solid white on X-rays and can mask tumors.

Computer-aided detection

A technology where a computer scans a mammogram following radiologist review to highlight suspicious areas for closer inspection.

Ductal lavage

An experimental procedure in which a flexible catheter is inserted into a breast duct to collect cells for precancerous analysis.

Molecular breast imaging

An experimental technique that tracks the movement of a radioactive isotope injected into the bloodstream to locate small tumors.

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy

A diagnostic procedure using a thin, hollow needle attached to a syringe to extract cellular material or fluid from a breast lesion.

Core needle biopsy

A procedure using a hollow needle to harvest cylinder-shaped tissue samples from a breast lump for pathological analysis.

Stereotactic biopsy

A core needle biopsy procedure performed under mammographic guidance to sample nonpalpable breast lesions such as microcalcifications.

Wire localization

A procedure where a thin wire is placed under mammographic guidance into a nonpalpable breast lump immediately prior to surgical excision.

HER2

A cell-surface protein involved in cell development that accelerates tumor growth when overexpressed in $20-30\%$ of breast cancers.

Trastuzumab

A monoclonal antibody drug (Herceptin) designed to target and block the activity of the HER2 protein in HER2-positive breast cancer cells.

CA 15.3

A blood tumor marker (carbohydrate antigen 15.3) evaluated in blood tests to monitor disease activity over time following treatment.

Tubular grade

A component score of histologic grading based on the percentage of tubular structures within a tumor specimen.

Nuclear grade

A component score of histologic grading based on nuclear size, shape variations, and stain density.

Mitotic index

A score measuring tumor cell proliferation rate based on the number of cycling cells per square millimeter.

Tis

A TNM classification value indicating carcinoma in situ with no invasive growth.

T1 tumor classification

A TNM tumor classification indicating that the primary tumor dimension is $2\,\text{cm}$ or less.

T2 tumor classification

A TNM tumor classification indicating that the primary tumor is greater than $2\,\text{cm}$ but not more than $5\,\text{cm}$.

T3 tumor classification

A TNM tumor classification indicating that the primary tumor dimension is greater than $5\,\text{cm}$.

T4 tumor classification

A TNM tumor classification indicating a tumor of any size growing directly into the chest wall or skin, or presenting as inflammatory breast cancer.

N0 lymph node classification

A TNM classification value indicating that cancer has not spread to regional lymph nodes.

M1 metastatic classification

A TNM classification value indicating confirmed spread of cancer to distant organs outside the breast and regional lymph nodes.

Lumpectomy

A breast-conserving surgical procedure (also known as wide local excision) performed to remove a discrete tumor lump along with a surrounding margin of healthy tissue.

Simple mastectomy

A surgical procedure (or total mastectomy) involving the complete removal of breast tissue while leaving axillary lymph nodes undisturbed.

Modified radical mastectomy

A surgical procedure involving the removal of the entire breast tissue along with axillary fatty tissue and lymph nodes.

Sentinel lymph node

The initial lymph node that receives direct drainage from a tumor site, evaluated during mapping to determine whether full axillary dissection is required.

Tamoxifen

An oral hormonal therapy agent commonly prescribed to premenopausal women to block estrogen receptors on cancer cells.

Aromatase inhibitors

Hormonal therapy medications administered to postmenopausal women to reduce systemic estrogen production.