{"id":4909,"date":"2024-07-23T13:36:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T11:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studienportal-brustkrebs.de\/about-breast-cancer\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T11:47:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T09:47:26","slug":"about-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/studienportal-brustkrebs.de\/en\/about-breast-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"About Breast Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Breast Cancer<\/strong>
70,000 new cases per year<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Brustkrebsbetroffene\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Incidence of Breast Cancer <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With an incidence rate of around 70,000 new cases per year, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Germany.
Additionally, almost 800 men are newly diagnosed with breast cancer each year. This means that approximately one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, with the average age of diagnosis being 64. Men thus account for about 1% of all breast cancer patients.
A continuous dialogue about prevention, early detection, individual treatment methods, and research findings is therefore indispensable and provides great added value for everyone. Breast cancer develops from the milk ducts in the mammary glands when the natural cell cycle gets out of control, old cells no longer die, and the division of new cells is not inhibited by the body.
In its early stages, breast cancer begins as a so-called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). However, as the disease progresses, the tumor can become invasive by growing into adjacent tissue or spreading through lymph and blood vessels in the body, forming metastases. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Causes of Breast Cancer<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCauses for the development of breast cancer are genetic changes in the affected body cells. These changes can be inherited with genetic information or arise from an accumulation of spontaneous changes during cell division. Various factors can trigger such changes in the genetic material, primarily factors typical for life in industrialized nations, such as late, rare, and absent pregnancies, the use of estrogen-progesterone combination preparations after menopause, high-energy diets, and lack of exercise. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Symptoms of Breast Cancer<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn its early stages, breast cancer usually causes no symptoms or pain. Women should therefore pay particular attention to certain signs that could indicate a possible illness. These include, for example: firm, non-movable lumps in the breast, changes in the nipples, changes in breast size, changes in skin appearance such as skin dimpling, redness, the new appearance of orange peel skin (skin edema) in areas of the breast, and swelling in the armpit. Most cases of breast cancer are curable if detected early and treated according to current therapy standards. However, the disease can also recur locally after a long time, or metastases can appear in other parts of the body, which is why follow-up therapies lasting for years are often recommended. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Facts about Breast Cancer
9 Facts at a Glance<\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1. Breast Cancer<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Breast cancer, also known as mammary carcinoma, is the most common cancer among women in Germany, with around 70,000 new cases annually. Among all new diagnoses, about 1% also affect men. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Factors contributing to the development of breast cancer can include age, lifestyle (e.g., alcohol consumption and smoking), obesity, and lack of physical activity. Additionally, the risk is increased in childless women, women giving birth for the first time over the age of 30, and women who take combination preparations of estrogens and progesterone after menopause. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Approximately a quarter of all women with breast cancer also have increased family incidence, which can indicate a genetic cause. However, a disease-causing gene, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, which is referred to as hereditary breast cancer, can only be detected in 5-10% of cases. Women with these high-risk genes for breast cancer have a 50-80% lifetime risk and the risk of developing the disease 20 years earlier than women without these genetic changes. They also have a 60% chance of developing cancer in the other breast and a 10-40% risk of developing ovarian cancer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Changes within the breast are often difficult or impossible to palpate in an early stage. Therefore, it is all the more important to pay attention to other signs of changes. These include, in addition to lumps or hardenings in the breast, for example: skin dimpling when raising the arms, changes in nipple shape, color or texture changes of the skin on the breast or nipple, discharge of bloody, purulent, or clear fluid from a nipple, or pain\/pulling sensation in the breast without a known cause, independent of the menstrual cycle and hormone intake. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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If breast cancer is suspected, for example after a self-examination or a doctor’s palpation, important imaging examinations of the breast are carried out for further diagnosis, such as a mammography and, depending on the situation, also ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging. If the suspicion of breast cancer is strengthened, a tissue biopsy may also be performed for further clarification. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Don’t rush anything; immediate tumor surgery is only necessary in a few cases. However, a quick clarification and a rapid start of drug treatment are very important to halt the progression of the disease. If surgery is performed, the goal is to remove all tumor cells from the breast, which also involves removing some healthy tissue. The margins are then examined for tumor cells. In most cases, the breast can be preserved, and radical removal can be avoided. Discuss the treatment and any open questions thoroughly with your doctor or even seek a second opinion (e.g., Charit\u00e9 Berlin<\/a> or KEM Essen<\/a>). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7. Hormone Receptors and Biomarkers<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Information on tumor size and spread alone is often not sufficient to assess the risk of a tumor. Molecular biological examinations can help characterize the tumor and better assess its aggressiveness. They are also important for choosing the therapy and can support the creation of a personalized treatment concept. The most important characteristics include the following: <\/p>\n