ISSN: 2319–9865 RRJMHS | Volume 2 | Issue 2 | April – June, 2013 31 Research and Reviews: Journal of Medical and Health Sciences Breast Cancer in India: Etiology, Diagnosis and Therapy Ashok Kumar Peepliwal 1 * and Prasad Tandale 2 1 Clinical Trial Management Department, Lambda Therapeutic Research Ltd., Navi Mumbai-400 614, Maharashtra, India 2 Pharmacovigilence Department, Reliance Life Sciences, Navi Mumbai-400 701, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Review Article Received: 05/03/2013 Revised: 18/03/2013 Accepted: 20/03/2013 *For Correspondence Clinical Trial Management Department, Lambda Therapeutic Research Ltd., Navi Mumbai-400 614, Maharashtra, India Keywords: Breast Cancer, Life Style, Risk factors, Diagnosis, Detection, Therapy ABSTRACT Breast cancer accounts for more than 20% Indian women in India. The mortality is still higher than the cervix cancer even though the descriptive etiology, early diagnosis tools and best therapies are available for the breast cancer. As for as Indian women concerns, most of them are not aware about the myths and facts of hidden anatomy of breast, cause, diagnosis followed by the treatment required to cure the evil disease i.e. breast cancer. This review mainly focuses on etiology of breast cancer, types of breast cancers i.e. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), Invasive ductal carcinoma, Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIC), Invasive lobular carcinoma, Inflammatory breast disease, various diagnostic tools used to characterize the type of diseases, various methods to detect the stages of cancers, advanced imaging techniques (Ultrasound, MRI,CT Scan, PET Scan etc.) and other biopsy tests required to assess the breast cancer followed by the better treatment to improve the morbidity. The extensive literature review done on this topic and this literature review would be helpful to the community updating about the breast cancer, how one can diagnose the evil disease on time and get the best therapy available to live life happily. INTRODUCTION Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumors (except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream). Tumors can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems and they can release hormones that alter body function. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected. Breast cancer begins in breast tissue, which is made up of glands for milk production, called lobules, and the ducts that connect the lobules to the nipple as depicted in figure 1.1. The remainder of the breast is made up of fatty, connective, and lymphatic tissue. Most masses are benign; that is, they are not cancerous, do not grow uncontrollably or spread, and are not life-threatening. Over 100,000 new breast cancer patients are estimated to be diagnosed annually in India [1,2] . Breast cancer is a tumor that starts from cells of the breast tissue, either in cells that line the ducts that carry milk to the nipples (ductal cancer) and/or in cells that line the lobules, which are glands involved in milk production. Breast tumors can be benign or malignant, the former are not life-threatening, can usually be removed, do not invade adjacent tissues or spread to other parts of the body and can include fibrocystic tissue, fibroadenomas and benign breast disease. Malignant breast tumors are cancerous and can invade surrounding tissues or metastasize to other parts of the body via the lymphatic system (lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes), such as the liver and bone. If cancer cells have spread to the surrounding lymph nodes, there is a much higher probability that the tumor has entered the bloodstream and metastasized to other parts of the body [3] . The incidence and mortality of breast cancer patients is depicted in figure-1.2. It shows 22.9% and 39.0% standardized incident cases per one lakh cases in India and Worldwide respectively while the death reported 11.1% and 12.5% respectively [4,5,6,7] .