Prevention Detection / Intraductal Approach The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation is dedicated to advancing the intraductal approach to the breast. Dr. Susan Love believes it is this approach that will bring us to the beginning of the end of breast cancer.
What does intraductal mean? The word intraductal mean within the ducts. The ducts are the passages inside the breast that the milk travels through to get to the nipple. The lobules are the parts of the breast capable of making milk.
Why are the ducts important? Virtually all breast cancer begins inside the breast ducts. When a pathologist performs a breast biopsy, she or he is looking for abnormalities in the cells in the breast ducts or lobules. This abnormality could be:
Hyperplasia葉his means that there are more cells than you would expect to see in the walls of the ducts or lobules, but that all of these cells appear normal.
Atypia葉his means that the cells look different from normal cells, but that they don't have all the features of cancer cells.
Atypical hyperplasia葉his means there are more cells and they look different from normal cells.
Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS)葉his means there are cancerous cells present but they have not invaded to areas outside of the breast duct. Because no invasion has occurred, DCIS is referred to as a precancer. DCIS is often discovered as microcalcifications 葉iny calcium deposits 葉hat appear as very small, white specks on a mammogram.
Invasive cancer葉his means the cancerous cells have spread outside the duct into other areas of the breast.
What is the intraductal approach to breast cancer? Virtually all breast cancer begins inside the milk ducts. Using two new technologies, a catheter and a scope, researchers can see and assess what is happening inside the ducts. This work is advancing our understanding of breast cancer and allowing us to develop new approaches to breast cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. The two primary intraductal approaches are ductal lavage and ductoscopy.
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Hear Dr. Love Speak About Ductal Lavage Learn more about this exciting step forward in our understanding of the breast and breast cancer. MORE >
See How Ductal Lavage Works Watch this video to learn about this tool that allows us to wash cells out of the breast duct. MORE >
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