Adenocarcinoma is a cancer originating in glandular tissue. In the breast, adenocarcinoma develops within the lobules, which produce breast milk, or the ducts, which carry that milk to the nipple, according to the virtualmedicalcenter.com. Invasive adenocarcinoma of the breast may present as a distinct lump in the breast, if the cancer develops in the duct, or as a thickening of breast tissue if the cancer begins in the lobules. Once diagnosed, patients with invasive adenocarcinoma of the breast may receive a number of therapies to treat their cancer.
Breast Cancer Surgery
The common first-line treatment for invasive adenocarcinoma of the breast is surgery. Smaller and less advanced adenocarcinomas may be treated with a lumpectomy--a breast-sparing surgery in which the doctor removes the cancer but leaves behind healthy breast tissue. A lumpectomy typically spares the overlying skin and nipple, as well as the musculature underneath the breast, and allows for relatively easy breast reconstruction. Patients with larger or more advanced adenocarcinomas in the breast may require a mastectomy. During this procedure, the surgeon removes the whole breast containing the cancer, as well as the skin and nipple overlying the breast and the underlying pectoral muscle tissue. Both procedures require special treatment after the surgery to prevent infection, and may require additional treatment following the surgery for complete cancer remission.
Chemotherapy
Another common treatment for adenocarcinoma of the breast is chemotherapy--using toxic drugs to kill adenocarcinoma cells. Chemotherapy drugs typically work by interfering with essential processes in the cell, such as preventing the duplication of DNA required for the cell to divide. Some chemotherapy drugs also inhibit the cancer cell's metabolism, preventing the cell from making chemicals it requires to survive. Chemotherapy allows doctors to target and kill adenocarcinoma cells within the affected breast, as well as cancer cells that have migrated to other tissues. Patients receiving chemotherapy typically develop side effects, since these drugs can harm healthy cells as well as adenocarcinoma cells. Medline Plus indicates that common side effects of chemotherapy include nausea, pain, tiredness and hair loss.
Radiation Treatment
Patients with adenocarcinoma of the breast may also receive radiation treatment. Radiation severely damages fundamental structures within the cell, such as DNA. Radiation treatment aims a very high dose of radiation directly into the adenocarcinoma, exposing the cancer cells to large doses of radiation, while surrounding tissues undergo little or no radiation exposure. Doctors commonly use radiation treatment to kill adenocarcinoma cells remaining after less invasive cancer surgeries: BreastCancer.org reports that a lumpectomy followed by radiation is as effective as a mastectomy in patients with single tumors under 1.5 inches in diameter. The use of radiation treatment allows patients a better chance of sparing healthy breast tissue while effectively treating adenocarcinoma of the breast.
