Diagnosis
Authors: Sarah Gierahn Nielsen, med. student & Hanne Melgaard Nielsen, MD
10% of all females are diagnosed with breast cancer in Denmark. BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations with a genetic disposition to breast cancer have an even higher risk of breast cancer.
Carcinoma of the breast is diagnosed by the “Triple test”
- The clinical examination of the patient with inspection and palpation of the breasts
- Mammography and ultra sonography
- Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) or core needle biopsy (CNB)
Prognostic factors
- Tumor size > 2cm
- Axillary lymph node involvement
- Age of patient
- Histologic grade of cancer cells
- Histologic subtype
- Receptor status (eg. estrogen and progesterone)
- HER 2 gene overexpression
- BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 mutations
References
- Møller Gaardsted, A. and Engholm, G., 2020. Statistik Om Brystkræft – Kræftens Bekæmpelse. [online] Kræftens Bekæmpelse. Available at: <https://www.cancer.dk/brystkraeft-mammacancer/statistik-brystkraeft/> [Accessed 12 December 2020].