Are there different types of breast cancer?

Yes.: The type of breast cancer reflects the cells of origin within the breast and what these cancer cells look like under the microscope. Different types include ductal, lobular, medullary, tubular, and mucinous. These types do behave differently, so this information is important; however, the stage of the cancer better predicts prognosis.

Yes w/ongoing evol.: Current thinking has identified different subtypes of breast cancer based on their cellular origin and genetic makeup - luminal (phenobarbital) a, luminal (phenobarbital) b, her2 overexpressing, and basal-like/triple negative. This is beginning to allowed more targetted therapy. Moving forward, molecular analysis and microarray genomic analysis may allow even more specificity.