Tubular breast cancer

Tubular breast cancer is a rare type of invasive breast cancer.  

Invasive means cancer cells have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. However, tubular breast cancer is less likely to spread than other types of invasive breast cancer.

Tubular breast cancer usually affects women over the age of 50, although you can get it at any age. It’s very rare in men. 

It’s often found alongside other types of breast cancer.

You may also hear it called tubular carcinoma. 

Outlook (prognosis)

Tubular breast cancer usually has a very good outlook (prognosis) following treatment. This is because the cells are nearly always low grade and slower growing. 

The outlook is particularly good if the cancer is “pure” tubular. This means it’s not mixed with other types of breast cancer.

As with most types of breast cancer, the symptoms of tubular breast cancer can include:

• A lump or swelling in the breast

• A change in the size and shape of the breast

• Changes to the nipple

• Puckering or dimpling of the skin

Breast screening can pick up cancer before there are any symptoms. You may have been diagnosed with tubular breast cancer after attending breast screening without having any of the symptoms described above.

Find out more about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and how to check your breasts.

Tubular breast cancer is diagnosed using a range of tests. These may include:

• A mammogram 
• An ultrasound scan
• A core biopsy of the breast and sometimes lymph nodes
• A fine needle aspiration (FNA) of the breast and sometimes lymph nodes

The treatments you’re offered will depend on the features of the tubular breast cancer, such as its:

• Size

• Grade

• Hormone receptor status

• HER2 status

Treatment aims to remove the cancer and reduce the risk of it coming back or spreading to other parts of the body.

Surgery

If you have tubular breast cancer, surgery is likely to be the first treatment you’re offered.

There are 2 main types of breast surgery:

• Breast-conserving surgery

• Mastectomy 

The type of surgery you’re recommended will depend on:

• The area of the breast affected

• The size of the cancer relative to the size of your breast

• Whether more than one area in the breast is affected 

Your treatment team will discuss what surgery options are suitable for you. 

If you have breast-conserving surgery, it’s important the cancer is removed with a border (margin) of healthy breast tissue around it. This is to reduce the risk of any cancer cells being left behind. If there are cancer cells at the margin, you may need further surgery to remove more tissue. Your treatment team will discuss this with you.

If you have a mastectomy as part of your surgery for tubular breast cancer, you’re likely to be offered breast reconstruction. You can have this at the same time as your mastectomy (immediate reconstruction) or months or years later (delayed reconstruction). Your treatment team will discuss which reconstruction options are suitable for you.

If you have a mastectomy without breast reconstruction, you may choose to wear a prosthesis (an artificial breast form).

Read our information on breast prostheses, bras and clothes after surgery.

You might choose not to have reconstruction and not to wear a prosthesis after a mastectomy.  

Surgery to the lymph nodes under the arm

Tubular breast cancer is less likely to spread to the lymph nodes under the arm than most other types of breast cancer. However, your treatment team will want to check if your lymph nodes have been affected.

This, along with other information about your breast cancer, will help them decide whether you’ll benefit from any other treatment after surgery.

You can find out more about surgery to the lymph nodes in our surgery information.

Other treatments

After surgery, you will usually need other treatments.

These treatments aim to reduce the risk of breast cancer returning in the same breast or spreading somewhere else in the body. Which treatments you’re offered will depend on your individual situation.

Treatments given after surgery are called adjuvant treatments.

Some of these treatments may be given before surgery. This is called neo-adjuvant or primary treatment.

Radiotherapy

If you have breast-conserving surgery, you’ll usually be offered radiotherapy to the breast. This is to reduce the risk of cancer coming back in the same breast. You may also have radiotherapy to the lymph nodes under the arm or above the collarbone.

Radiotherapy is sometimes given to the chest wall after a mastectomy. However, this may not be necessary if you have tubular breast cancer. Your treatment team will talk to you about whether you need radiotherapy based on your individual situation.

Hormone (endocrine) therapy

Some breast cancers use oestrogen in the body to help them grow. These are known as oestrogen receptor positive or ER-positive breast cancers.

Hormone therapies block or stop the effect of oestrogen on breast cancer cells. Different hormone therapy drugs do this in different ways.

If your cancer is ER-positive, your treatment team will discuss with you which hormone therapy they think is most suitable. 

If oestrogen is not helping your breast cancer grow, it’s ER-negative and hormone therapy will not benefit you.

Chemotherapy

If you have tubular breast cancer, it’s unlikely you’ll have chemotherapy. This is because tubular breast cancer is almost always low grade and much less likely to spread to other parts of the body than some other types of breast cancer. But it may be recommended for some people.

Your treatment team will discuss which treatment option is most appropriate for you. When the benefit of chemotherapy is less certain, your treatment team may suggest a test called a genomic assay.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy drugs block the growth and spread of cancer. They target and interfere with processes in the cells that help cancer grow.

Whether you are offered a targeted therapy will depend on the features of your breast cancer. 

Bisphosphonates

Bisphosphonates slow down or prevent loss of bone tissue.

You may have bisphosphonates:  

• To reduce the risk of breast cancer spreading if you’ve been through the menopause  

• If you’re at risk of or have osteoporosis – when bones lose their strength and are more likely to break  

You may have bisphosphonates as a tablet or into a vein (intravenously).  

Your treatment team can tell you if bisphosphonates are suitable for you.

You'll continue to be monitored after your hospital-based treatments (such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy) finish. This is known as follow-up.

Whether you had breast-conserving surgery or a mastectomy (with or without reconstruction), it's important to be aware of any changes to the breast, chest or surrounding area.

The area around your scar may feel lumpy, numb or sensitive. This means you'll need to get to know how it looks and feels so you know what’s normal for you. This will help you feel more confident about noticing changes and reporting them early to your breast care nurse, treatment team or GP.

Having breast cancer in one breast means the risk of developing cancer in the other breast (a new primary breast cancer) is slightly higher than in someone who's never had breast cancer. It’s important to be aware of any new changes in the other breast and to report these as soon as possible.

If you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, you might be feeling lonely or isolated. It’s completely normal to experience these feelings.

You might find it helps to talk to someone who has been through a similar experience. Find out about our Someone Like Me service below.

You can also visit our confidential online forum and talk to other people affected by tubular breast cancer.

You can also speak to our nurses on our free helpline, below.