Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), sometimes called infiltrating lobular carcinoma, is the second most common type of breast cancer after invasive ductal carcinoma (cancer that begins in the milk-carrying ducts and spreads beyond it).

Signs and Symptoms of ILC

According to the American Cancer Society, any of the following unusual changes in the breast can be a first sign of breast cancer, including invasive lobular carcinoma:

• swelling of all or part of the breast
• skin irritation or dimpling
• breast pain
• nipple pain
• redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin
• a nipple discharge other than breast milk
• a lump in the underarm area

Diagnosis of ILC

Tests for Diagnosing ILC

• Physical examination of the breasts
• Mammography
• Ultrasound 
• Breast MRI
• Biopsy

Tests for Staging ILC

Staging is the process used to figure out how far invasive lobular carcinoma may have spread from its original location. The stage of the cancer is based on three pieces of information:

• the size of the tumor
• whether the cancer has spread to any lymph nodes, and if so, how many
• whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body

Subtypes of ILC

There are different subtypes of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) that are based on how the cancer cells look under the microscope. In its most typical or “classic” form, ILC is made up of small cancer cells that invade the stroma. The stroma includes the fatty tissue and ligaments that surround the ducts and lobules and also surrounds the blood and lymph vessels in the breast. Classic ILC cells tend to invade the stroma one-by-one in a single-file pattern. The cancer cells generally look quite similar to each other. The nuclei, or cores of each cell containing genetic material, tend to be small and look alike from cell to cell.

If the cancer cells grow in a different pattern than classic ILC — that is, not in a single-file formation — you may hear your doctor refer to one of these subtypes of invasive lobular carcinoma:

• Solid: The cells grow in large sheets with little stroma in between them.
• Alveolar: The cancer cells grow in groups of 20 or more.
• Tubulolobular: This subtype has some of the “single-file” growth pattern of classic invasive lobular carcinoma, but some of the cells also form small tubules (tube-like structures).

If the cancer cells themselves look different from classic invasive lobular carcinoma cells, you may hear your doctor refer to one of these subtypes:

• Pleomorphic
• Signet ring cell

 Treatment for ILC

The treatments for invasive lobular carcinoma fall into two broad categories:

Local Treatments for ILC: Surgery and Radiation Therapy

Local treatments treat the tumor and the surrounding areas, such as the chest and lymph nodes.

Systemic Treatments for ILC: Chemotherapy, Hormonal Therapy, Targeted Therapies

Systemic treatments travel throughout the body to destroy any cancer cells that may have left the original tumor and to help reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.

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