What Does Her Mean In Breast Cancer

And as it advances metastases can occur in distant parts of the body some of the most common ones being the bones lungs liver and brain.

What does her mean in breast cancer.

Parts of the breast where cancer begins include. Genes contain the recipes for the various proteins a cell needs to stay healthy and function normally. This type of cancer forms in the lining of a milk duct within your breast. The type of tissue where your breast cancer arises determines how the cancer behaves and what treatments are most effective.

One is for the female hormone progesterone. Her2 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 is a gene that can play a role in the development of breast cancer your pathology report should include information about her2 status which tells you whether or not her2 is playing a role in the cancer. Her2 positive and her2 negative refer to two different types of breast cancer. Ductal means that the cancer starts inside the milk ducts carcinoma refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues including breast tissue that cover or line the internal organs and in situ means in its original place.

Her2 positive breast cancer is more aggressive and more likely to recur than her2 negative breast cancer. What is triple negative breast cancer. Breast cancer cells with higher than normal levels of her2 are called her2 positive. Recurrence can happen any time but it usually takes place within 5 years of treatment.

Ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer. Breast cancer has one main intention to spread. Learn more from experts at webmd. This protein promotes the growth of cancer cells.

Often the first stop is the lymph nodes. The type of breast cancer you have determines the type of medication you take. Ductal carcinoma in situ dcis is non invasive breast cancer. These cancers tend to grow and spread faster than other breast cancers but are much more likely to respond to treatment with drugs that target the her2 protein.

Breast cancers are er positive her2 positive or triple negative. Her2 positive breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 her2. Think of cancer cells as a house. In recent years there have been significant developments in the treatment of her2 positive breast cancer.

In about 1 of every 5 breast cancers the cancer cells have extra copies of the gene that makes the her2 protein.