The disease is most often diagnosed in women over 50 years of age. Very few women under 30 are developed. Despite the increased incidence, there has been a slight decrease in the number of deaths in recent years and only a fifth of the fatal cases. This reduction is due to improvements in treatment and increased use of mammography for the detection, which means that tumors can be detected early, when they often respond well to treatment.Screening can reduce the number of deaths in women over 50 years for up to 4 out of 10. In the U.S., many doctors recommend that women over 40 get a mammogram every 1-2 years and each year more than 50 years of age. A cancerous tumor may first develop in the breast lobules (the structures in the breast that produce milk). A tumor that originates in the milk ducts can lead to Paget's disease of the breast. The tumors can spread to other organs like the lungs or liver, before being detected.
It is a cancer that originates in the breast tissue of women and men. It can spread to the lymph nodes under the arm before diagnosis. With advanced disease, metastasis can be seen in many body organs, including bone, brain, lung, liver and skin.