What are the main early symptoms of breast ductal adenocarcinoma?

The mammary gland is a component of the breast and is also a common site of disease. The most common one is mammary duct adenocarcinoma. However, not many patients have clear symptoms of the disease. Many breast diseases have similar symptoms, which may lead to errors in diagnosis, making treatment more difficult. Therefore, patients must understand some symptoms of the underlying disease in order to make judgments based on the physical symptoms. So what are the main early symptoms of breast duct tumors? The symptoms are:

Breast ductal carcinoma refers to a benign papilloma that occurs in the breast duct epithelium. Depending on the number and location of breast ductal neoplasia lesions, they can be divided into two types: solitary (large intraductal papilloma) and multiple (medium and small intraductal papilloma). The disease has a high chance of becoming malignant and is called a precancerous lesion, so it must be taken seriously.

It is understood that breast duct angiography of patients with breast ductal adenomas shows that the duct is suddenly interrupted, the broken end is smooth and cup-shaped, the proximal duct shows obvious expansion, sometimes with a round or oval filling defect, and the duct is soft and smooth, which is mostly intraductal papilloma;

If the broken ends are not neat, the proximal duct is slightly dilated, twisted, disordered, has filling defects or is completely blocked, the duct loses its natural softness and becomes rigid, etc., it is most likely intraductal carcinoma. Fluid smear cytology examination of papillary carcinoma can find cancer cells.

The final diagnosis is based on the pathological diagnosis of breast ductal adenocarcinoma, and paraffin sections should be performed to avoid false negative or false positive results due to the limitations of frozen sections.

1. A single large intraductal papilloma may be felt as a cord-like mass about 1 cm long under the areola or at the edge of the areola, or a nodule the size of a date pit may be palpated. Because blood and fluid accumulate in the duct where the tumor is located, blood, milk, or coffee-like secretions will overflow from the nipple when the mass is pressed, but the overflow outlet is fixed. This disease often presents as intermittent spontaneous discharge, or discharge after squeezing or collision. Most patients seek medical attention after discovering brown-yellow stains on their underwear. The exudate is discharged, the tumor becomes smaller, the pain is not obvious, and occasionally there are symptoms of breast duct tumors such as tenderness and dull pain. Malignant transformation is rare in this syndrome.

2. Multiple intraductal papillomas of medium and small sizes originate from the terminal ducts and are located in the peripheral area. They are formed due to the proliferation of glandular epithelium in the medium and small ducts. There are often multiple nodules in the upper outer quadrant of the affected side. The particles are beaded, with unclear boundaries and uneven texture. Some have symptoms of breast ductal tumors with discharge, while some do not have discharge. The discharge is bloody, yellow watery, or coffee-like. The disease may become malignant in 5-10% of cases, which is called precancerous lesions and must be taken seriously.

This article introduces the early symptoms of breast ductal adenocarcinoma. In the early stages, you will find that the breasts are swollen and painful. The pain will be more severe when squeezed, and lumps will also appear. When patients find similar symptoms, they should go to the hospital for examination. Breast B-ultrasound can be done during the examination. After the disease is confirmed, treatment should be carried out. At the same time, the possibility of the disease becoming cancerous should be prevented. Regular follow-up examinations should be done, and breast self-examinations should be performed every month.