IDC and DCIS?

Molly50

I just picked up my pathology report. I had the initial report but this is the full report from my core needle biopsy excluding oncotype. It says Estrogen + 100%, Progesterone+ 98% intensity 3 , Allred score 8 on both , HER2/NEU +1 Negative, ki-67 17% intensity 3 borderline,

Left breast mass, 12:00 clock, IDC histologic grade 2 Nottingham: Mitotic Rate score 1; Nuclear Pleomorphism 2, glandular differentiation score 2, aggregate score 5/9

DCIS nuclear grade ll/lll, cribiform type.

BarredOwl

Hi Molly50:

DCIS and IDC may both be present. When there is a mix of DCIS and invasive disease present, the treatment is based on the stage of the invasive disease.

Here is a short intro to some features of DCIS on this site. If you scroll down, there is an intro to grade (which relates to the appearance of the nucleus of the cells) and an illustration of "cribiform" (one of the words used to characterize how clogged the ducts appear):

http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/dcis/di...

BarredOwl

Molly50

Thank you, BarredOwl. I guess I was surprised to see both though I shouldn't be. Do you know what it means when the Allred score is 8 which is the highest? I have been reading, reading and reading but I didn't have all of this before I met with my MO and my BS. Even though the radiologist and the pathology report say the mass is 1.2 cm the BS thinks it is more like 2 cm so she's calling it stage ll. I won't know until my LX on the 29th if any node involvement though the ultrasound indicated inflammation on some nodes.

I think this may be one of the down sides of waiting a month after meeting with the doctors to have surgery. I am getting worried and anxious. Every little thing makes me wonder if it is cancer related because I didn't notice the changes to my breast. I had pain and had been checking myself almost compulsively until I found a lump but I didn't notice the visual changes until the BS pointed them out to me. My left breast areola is lighter in color, smaller and bumpy.

BarredOwl

Hi Molly50:

Interestingly, I don't think I ever received an Allred score for ER/PR. It appears to be a combined rating based on the percentage of cells which are positive and the intensity or brightness of the staining.

This site says:

• An Allred score between 0 and 8. This scoring system is named for the doctor who developed it. The system looks at what percentage of cells test positive for hormone receptors, along with how well the receptors show up after staining (this is called "intensity"). This information is then combined to score the sample on a scale from 0 to 8. The higher the score, the more receptors were found and the easier they were to see in the sample.

The link to the full page "How to read hormone receptor test results" is at:

http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/hor...

This is clearly hormone-responsive, and the main implication for treatment is you would be eligible for treatment with anti-hormonal agents.

The not-knowing period of waiting for surgery and the final pathology was hard. I implemented a new walking program for myself, and researched and kicked off an improved diet. I had trouble escaping into my favorite TV dramas, because my mind would drift off into "worryville" and I couldn't follow the plot! I started to watch a lot of news, since if you zone out for a few minutes, you can just pop back in for the next story.

BarredOwl

Molly50

Thank you! It is so helpful to hear someone say they understand about the worry and waiting. I really appreciate your support.