Classification

Breast cancers are described along four different classification schemes, or groups, each based on different criteria and serving a different purpose:

  • Pathology - Each tumor is classified by its histological (microscopic anatomy) appearance and other criteria.
  • Grade of tumor - The histological grade of a tumor is determined by a pathologist under a microscope.
  • Protein & gene expression status - Currently, all breast cancers should be tested for expression, or detectable effect, of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2/neu proteins.
  • Stage of a tumor - The currently accepted staging scheme for breast cancer is the TNM classification.

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