According to statistics, every year the world loses about eight million human lives that have been destroyed by cancer. At the same time, it is argued that over the next ten years this figure will increase to thirteen million. Men are most commonly affected by lung, stomach, and intestinal cancers, while women are most commonly affected by lung and breast cancers. Sarcoma is one of the types of malignant lesions of the mammary glands. It has a very poor prognosis and a rapid course. Consider this disease in more detail.
Illness concept
Breast sarcoma is a malignant neoplasm of a non-epithelial nature that occurs in the breast. It is characterized by high aggressiveness, rapid growth, spread of metastases and, as a result, an unfavorable outcome. The disease often affects only one breast, but there are exceptions. In addition, people of both sexes and all ages are affected.
Distinction between sarcoma and breast cancer
First of all, you need to understand what is the difference from breast cancer? Their main difference is in the nature of the appearance of education. Thus, cancer arises from epithelial tissue. ATwhile sarcoma originates from connective tissues such as fibrous, lymphatic, muscle, fat and vascular. Often, education includes stromal components, so often oncologists use such a name for the disease as breast stromal sarcoma.
However, both of these diseases are malignant in nature and have similar causes. Their mechanism of occurrence is the same - the rebirth of he althy cells of the body.
Views
Breast sarcomas can be very diverse histologically and morphologically.
If we talk about the structure of the cells of education, then it can be of three types:
- Spindle cells. Most common (about 65-70% of cases).
- Round cell (about 27-29%).
- Giant cell. The rarest type (only 3-5% of sarcomas).
In addition, there is a classification of breast sarcomas according to morphological features. According to this division, tumors are as follows:
- Fibrosarcoma - arises from the connective tissue. This species occurs more often than others (in about 30% of cases). The formation is large, but ulceration on the skin of the chest is rarely caused.
- Rhabdomyosarcoma - arises from the muscles of the striated structure. It is characterized by rapid growth and high malignancy, the spread of cancer cells to neighboring tissues and organs. Most often affects young girls (under 25).
- Liposarcoma - appears as a result of malignancy (degeneration) of cellsadipose tissue. Distinctive features - the defeat of two breasts at the same time with their pronounced ulceration. Liposarcoma is characterized by a rapid process.
- Osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma are very rare, they originate from bone cells. Affects women over 50.
- Angiosarcoma - occurs as a result of the degeneration of cells located on the inner side of the walls of blood vessels. More often than others, women aged 30-45 suffer. Angiosarcomas have the ability to grow rapidly and relapse frequently.
There is also a division of sarcomas into two types, depending on their origin. They are:
- Primary. The resulting neoplasm is initially malignant in nature.
- Secondaries. They represent the rebirth of benign tumors.
Reasons
The exact causes of the development of this disease are still unknown. However, oncologists have long established a connection between the development of the disease and a number of factors. All of these increase a person's risk of developing cancer. These factors include:
- Hereditary predisposition. If a woman's blood relatives (sister, mother, grandmother) suffered from oncology, then this increases the risk of developing the disease in her.
- Working in production with chemicals. All of them are carcinogenic in nature and can cause cell degeneration.
- Breast injury. Often this serves as an impetus for the beginning of cell regeneration.
- Radiation exposure of varying degrees.
- Female. Due to hormonal reasons, it is women who are at risk. Men rarely suffer from breast sarcoma.
Symptoms
The very first symptom that allows you to suspect breast sarcoma is the appearance of a dense formation in it, which has clear boundaries and a bumpy surface. Its diameter varies. As a rule, sizes are in the range from 1.5 to 15 cm. In some clinics, you can see photos of breast sarcoma on the stands. Symptoms at an early stage are manifested in a feeling of discomfort in the chest.
A woman can feel the tumor herself. If at this stage the formation is not detected and appropriate measures are not taken, then the tumor will begin its active growth. And the fabric that fits it will become thin and cyanotic. The veins will start to show and become very visible.
Then the difference in the volume of the two breasts becomes noticeable, the diseased breast becomes covered with ulcers. On palpation, a large tumor of various structure and consistency is felt. There is also a change in the appearance of the nipple and areola around it. There are times when the nipple goes inside the breast.
It happens that with the rapid course of the disease, the symptoms resemble mastitis: coarsening and hyperemia of the chest, pain when pressed and touched, fever. If such signs are found, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to exclude the development of breast sarcoma. A photo of the pathology is attached below. The doctor will tell you more about the disease.
In the last stages, a symptom of breast sarcoma may be the discharge of blood and even pus from the nipple. This is a sign of tissue breakdown within the affected breast.
Staging of breast sarcoma
Like any other cancer, breast sarcoma goes through four stages of development.
Mammary sarcoma at the first stage is small (no more than 3 centimeters), it does not affect the muscles or blood vessels, it is localized only at the site of origin.
Second stage - at this stage, the malignant neoplasm grows into the muscle tissue and vessels located nearby. The seal can be up to 5 centimeters in diameter. However, in the second stage, metastasis has not yet begun.
Third stage - a malignant tumor is actively growing and affects the connective tissue, so often at this stage there is an external change in the diseased breast. Metastases are found in regional lymph nodes (above the collarbone and in the armpit).
The fourth stage is the last one. The tumor metastasizes even to distant organs (liver, kidneys and bones). The primary malignant focus located in the breast continues its active growth.
Diagnosis
Doctors have not yet developed a clear scheme for detecting the disease. This is due to the fact that it is quite rare and has a huge number of different types.
Diagnosis begins with an examination by a doctor (mammologist). He palpates the patient's breast and can detect a movable nodule withlarge bumps on its surface. The consistency of education, as a rule, is heterogeneous. Also, in some cases, the examination can reveal the presence of edema and hyperemia of the affected breast, the presence of ulcers on it.
On a chest x-ray (mammography), you can detect a bumpy formation that includes several nodules. They protrude above the surface and displace neighboring tissues. Also on the x-ray, you can find cavities that are filled with necrotic fluid. At the same time, thinning of the skin and a protruding venous pattern are very clearly visible. It should be noted that X-ray and ultrasound examinations are not the main methods for diagnosing breast sarcoma. A photo of ultrasound and its technique is presented below.
To understand whether the tumor has metastasized, computed tomography of the brain, chest and abdomen is prescribed. The fact is that the sarcoma is very aggressive, with the help of the bloodstream it quickly spreads its cells throughout the patient's body. In case of presence of secondary malignant foci, their number and location will be clearly visible on the image.
Another indirect diagnostic method can be a laboratory blood test. In the case of the initial stage and the absence of metastasis, the indicators are often normal. If the malignant process is in full swing, the ESR and the number of leukocytes are often increased. If metastases have affected internal organs, this is often reflected in biochemical parametersblood.
The most reliable diagnostic method that can give a clear and definitive picture of the formation is the histological analysis of a tumor sample. To do this, the patient goes to the hospital, where they perform a biopsy of the affected organ, take a sample of the tumor tissue and prepare a micropreparation, which is examined under a microscope. In the case of a sarcoma, the contents of the preparation will look like many different types of cells with large nuclei. In addition, the presence of stroma and the absence of epithelium will be noted.
Treatment
At the moment, there are several ways to treat breast sarcoma. However, most often it is successful only with an integrated approach. Standard treatment regimens include:
- surgical removal of a malignant focus;
- taking chemotherapy drugs;
- use of radiotherapy.
Let's take a closer look at each of them.
The main and priority method of treatment is a surgical operation. In this case, the formation or its maximum possible part is removed, as well as neighboring tissues and organs that were affected by the malignant process.
The most effective way to fight a tumor is to perform a mastectomy in the early stages. With this method, the affected breast is removed, along with it, the large and small pectoral muscles, regional lymph nodes and all the tissues that surrounded the tumor are removed. True, sometimes doctors manage to savesome muscles.
Another type of surgical intervention is a quadrantectomy. This is a resection of only part of the breast, while it becomes possible to restore the appearance of the mammary glands with the help of plasty.
If metastases are found in the lymph nodes, then a lymphadenectomy is performed. This is an operation that removes a group of nodes.
However, one operation is often not enough. Do not forget that breast sarcoma is prone to relapse. Therefore, after removal of the tumor and adjacent tissues, the patient is shown chemotherapy. This is a method of treatment using drugs that have a pronounced anti-cancer activity and reduce the risk of complications. The drugs are different. Among them, such groups of funds are often used as:
- cytostatics;
- antimetabolites;
- anthracycline antibiotics.
Another treatment for breast sarcoma is radiation therapy. Often it is prescribed before surgery to reduce the size of the cancerous tumor and separate it from neighboring tissues. Often, radiation therapy can reduce the amount of surgery, as well as increase the chances of a favorable outcome. In addition, radiotherapy may also be prescribed after surgery. This is done to prevent the development of metastases.
Many people are interested in the topic of successful combination of breast sarcoma and homeopathy. There is an opinion that the use of homeopathic remedies, as well as a change in the patient's thinking, can heal him from this oncology. However, as practice shows, this is nothing more than a myth. And there is nothing more effective than surgery, chemotherapy and radiation at the moment.
Forecast
Breast sarcoma is a rather aggressive disease that can develop very quickly. As a rule, patients at any stage do not have very favorable life prognosis.
This data depends on a number of factors:
- Structure of tumor cells, its histological characteristics.
- Age and gender of the patient.
- Time to identify the disease. The earlier a tumor is diagnosed and appropriate measures taken, the better the outcome.
- The result of the operation. Often surgeons fail to remove the entire tumor and then the chances of recovery are significantly reduced.
- In addition, there is a high probability of recurrence even with complete excision of the neoplasm.
With early diagnosis and complete removal of the tumor, only 50-70% of all patients survive the next five years.
In the second stage of breast sarcoma, the prognosis for survival is reduced to 25-35%.
On the third and fourth, the survival rate is no more than ten percent.
Conclusion
Breast sarcoma is an aggressive oncological disease that can affect anyone, regardless of age and gender. The insidiousness of the disease lies in the fact that it is very difficult to detect it in the early stages. Therefore, in patients suffering from breast sarcoma, the prognosis is usually not very favorable.
That's why it's so importantknow the symptoms of the disease and methods of its diagnosis, as well as regularly undergo medical examinations.
