Q. I have recently been diagnosed with a very rare type of breast cancer called Intraductal Papillary Carcinoma. I am looking for any information you might have on this type of breast cancer and how it is treated.
Answer from the expert staff of breast cancer research at the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center at Providence Portland Medical Center: Intraductal papillary carcinomas are indeed rare, accounting for less than 1 percent to 2 percent of breast cancers in women. However, this type of cancer is similar to ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in some important ways. It is a non-invasive cancer that is confined to the ducts in the breast. It rarely spreads to the axillary lymph nodes or elsewhere in the body.
Standard treatment for intraductal papillary carcinoma is the same as treatment for DCIS; namely, either a combination of lumpectomy and radiation or a mastectomy, possibly followed by tamoxifen therapy. Less than 1 percent of patients treated for intraductal papillary carcinoma will have a recurrence.
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March 2002
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