OverviewRecurrent breast cancer is breast cancer that comes back after initial treatment. Although the initial treatment is aimed at eliminating all cancer cells, a few may have evaded treatment and survived. These undetected cancer cells multiply, becoming recurrent breast cancer. Show
Recurrent breast cancer may occur months or years after your initial treatment. The cancer may come back in the same place as the original cancer (local recurrence), or it may spread to other areas of your body (distant recurrence). Learning you have recurrent breast cancer may be harder than dealing with the initial diagnosis. But having recurrent breast cancer is far from hopeless. Treatment may eliminate local, regional or distant recurrent breast cancer. Even if a cure isn't possible, treatment may control the disease for long periods of time. SymptomsSigns and symptoms of recurrent breast cancer vary depending on where the cancer comes back. Local recurrenceIn a local recurrence, cancer reappears in the same area as your original cancer. If you've undergone a lumpectomy, the cancer could recur in the remaining breast tissue. If you've undergone a mastectomy, the cancer could recur in the tissue that lines the chest wall or in the skin. Signs and symptoms of local recurrence within the same breast may include:
Signs and symptoms of local recurrence on the chest wall after a mastectomy may include:
Regional recurrenceA regional breast cancer recurrence means the cancer has come back in the nearby lymph nodes. Signs and symptoms of regional recurrence may include a lump or swelling in the lymph nodes located:
Distant recurrenceA distant (metastatic) recurrence means the cancer has traveled to distant parts of the body, most commonly the bones, liver and lungs. Signs and symptoms include:
When to see a doctorAfter your breast cancer treatment ends, your doctor will likely create a schedule of follow-up exams for you. During follow-up exams, your doctor checks for any symptoms or signs of cancer recurrence. You can also report any new signs or symptoms to your doctor. Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice any persistent signs and symptoms that worry you. Sign up for free and receive the latest on breast cancer treatment, care and management. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. CausesRecurrent breast cancer occurs when cells that were part of your original breast cancer break away from the original tumor and hide nearby in the breast or in another part of your body. Later, these cells begin growing again. The chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy or other treatment you may have received after your first breast cancer diagnosis was intended to kill any cancer cells that may have remained after surgery. But sometimes these treatments aren't able to kill all of the cancer cells. Sometimes cancer cells may be dormant for years without causing harm. Then something happens that activates the cells, so they grow and spread to other parts of the body. It's not clear why this occurs. Risk factorsFor breast cancer survivors, factors that increase the risk of a recurrence include:
PreventionStrategies that have been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence include:
Can you get inflammatory breast cancer after a mastectomy?Recurrence can be local (within a treated breast or near a mastectomy scar), regional (within the lymph nodes or collar bone area on the same side as the affected breast) or distant (somewhere else within the body). Common sites for recurrence include the lymph nodes, bones, liver and lungs.
Can you get breast cancer after mastectomy and reconstruction?Breast cancer can return in certain cases, whether the breast has been reconstructed or not. Breast reconstruction does not increase or decrease the risk of recurrent breast cancer.
Can you have reconstruction with inflammatory breast cancer?For IBC patients seeking breast reconstruction, autologous reconstruction methods – methods that use your own tissue, such as the DIEP flap or the TRAM flap — are recommended over implant-based methods.
What is the prognosis of patients with inflammatory breast cancer?The 5-year survival rate for people with inflammatory breast cancer is 41%. However, survival rates vary depending on the stage, tumor grade, certain features of the cancer, and the treatment given. If the cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate is 56%.
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