What do my mom's breast cancer pathology result really mean?

Question

Hi doctor,

My mother underwent breast surgery for breast cancer recently. I have attached her pathology report. She is taking medicines for her cholesterol. Can you please have a look and explain it?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have gone through your reports (attachment removed to protect patient identity). Please answer my questions.

What type of surgery was done?
Is it MRM (modified radical mastectomy) or breast conservation?
Also, are the reports of ER, PR (estrogen and progesterone receptor), and HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) available?

She has early breast cancer, stage 1. T is the tumor size, which is less than 0.7 inches, which is T1. N is the lymph node. N0 means there is no involvement of lymph nodes. M is the metastasis. Mx means it is not yet known. She needs to undergo a bone scan and USG (ultrasonography) of the abdomen. NPI (Nottingham prognostic index) is a prognostic score for a long-term outcome.

With a score of 3.04, she has an 85 to 90 percent survival rate for five years. DCIS is ductal carcinoma in situ, which means that the cancer is still limited to the lining of breast glands. But there are foci of invasion which indicate that it has invaded some places of the breast tissue also. There are no lymph nodes involved, which means that there is no need for surgery in the axilla.

Depending on the type of surgery, she may need radiotherapy to the breast. And also, depending on the hormone receptor status, a decision for chemotherapy is taken.

I hope this helps.

Thank you.