Maskot Bildbyrå / Getty
Breast cancer can come in many forms, but the medical community is turning a blind eye to the second-most common form of breast cancer in the U.S. This results in delayed detections that, in turn, create worse outcomes for patients, according to new results published Friday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
The new findings center around invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), which occurs in the lobules of the breast where milk is produced. This type of cancer occurs in about 10–15 percent of all breast cancer cases. That’s less than the most prevalent form of invasive breast cancer—invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), which forms along the lining of the milk ducts that carry milk from the lobules to the nipple.
As a result, ILC has been neglected by the research community, leading to worse detection and treatment strategies. Patients who suffer from ILC are less likely to be free of cancer and live longer than those who suffer from IDC.