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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
It's not clear what causes invasive lobular carcinoma.
How invasive lobular carcinoma forms
Doctors know that invasive lobular carcinoma begins when cells in one or more milk-producing glands of the breast develop mutations in their DNA. The mutations tell the cells to divide and grow rapidly. The cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body.
The earliest marker of abnormal cells within the lobule is a condition that's referred to as lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Although the term includes the word "carcinoma," LCIS is not cancer. Instead, LCIS is considered an indicator of increased risk of breast cancer.
At some point, abnormal cells may break out of the lobules and invade or "infiltrate" the surrounding tissue, becoming invasive lobular carcinoma. Lobular carcinoma cells tend to break out of the lobule in single file, then invade surrounding breast tissue in a web-like manner. The affected area may have a different feel from normal breast tissue, but it is unlikely to feel like a lump.
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- Pruthi S (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 9, 2010.
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