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Breast Cancer Defined: Understanding Key Terms for Breast Cancer Patients

A cancer diagnosis brings with it a lot of new medical terms. Understanding these terms can help you learn more about your diagnosis and treatment options, including clinical trials. It may also help you feel more confident when talking to your doctor about your care and questions you may have. Here is a list of some common terms you might hear:

1. Diagnosis & Monitoring Terms

These words are often used to describe your specific type of breast cancer, how it behaves, and how far it may have spread:

BRCA1/BRCA2: “Breast Cancer gene” BRCA1 and BRCA2 are genes that help prevent breast cancer. When these genes are mutated, the risk of developing breast cancer is higher.¹, ²
Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Cancer that is in the breast and possibly the nearby lymph nodes but has not spread to other parts of the body.³
Estrogen Receptor (ER): A type of protein found inside cells of some female tissues and cancer cells which binds to estrogen and may lead to cell growth.⁴
HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2): A type of protein found on the surface of cells in everyone that plays an important role in cell growth and repair.⁵
HER2+ (HER2-positive) Breast Cancer: A type of breast cancer with higher than normal levels of a protein called HER2. This protein can cause the cancer to grow more quickly.⁶
Hormone Receptor Status: Hormone receptor status shows whether breast cancer cells have proteins that attach to hormones like estrogen.⁷
Metastatic/Metastasized: Breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body such as the bone, liver, lung, and/or brain.⁸
Progesterone Receptor (PR): A type of protein found inside cells of some female tissues and cancer cells which binds to estrogen and may lead to cell growth.⁹
Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC): Any breast cancer that does not have ER, PR, or excess HER2 protein.¹⁰

2. Treatment Terms

These are treatments you may hear about during your care. Some happen before surgery, some after, and some may be ongoing.

Neoadjuvant Therapy: Treatment given before surgery to shrink the tumor and make surgery easier and less extensive.¹¹
Surgery:
- Lumpectomy: Surgery to remove the tumor and some healthy tissue around it.¹²
- Mastectomy: Surgery to remove the breast.¹³
- Sentinel Node Biopsy: A procedure to see if cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.¹⁴
- Axillary Node Dissection: A surgery to remove lymph nodes under the arm.¹⁵
Adjuvant Treatment: Treatment given after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells and reduce the risk of recurrence.¹⁶
Extended Adjuvant Treatment: Ongoing treatment after adjuvant therapy to further reduce the risk of the cancer returning.¹⁷
Chemotherapy: The use of drugs to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing.¹⁸
Hormonal Therapy (Endocrine Therapy): Medicine that blocks hormones that some cancers need to grow.¹⁹
Radiation Therapy: High-energy x-rays used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.²⁰

3. Clinical Trial Terms

You may come across some of these terms when researching clinical trials or talking to your doctor about them:

Clinical Trial: A research study that tests new treatments to see how well they work and if they're safe.²¹
Eligibility Criteria: The requirements for joining a clinical trial, such as age, type and stage of cancer, and overall health.²²
Informed Consent: The process where doctors explain a clinical trial, including possible risks and benefits. This process helps patients decide, with the help of their doctor, if a particular clinical trial might be the right choice of treatment. The purpose is to make sure patients understand the clinical trial.²²
Standard of Care: The usual treatment given for a certain type and stage of cancer.²²
Protocol: The detailed plan that explains the purpose, objectives, assessments, and procedures of a clinical trial.²²
Institutional Review Board (IRB): A group of scientists, doctors, clergy, and patient advocates that reviews and approves clinical trials to ensure they're ethical and the rights of participants are protected.²²

Understanding these terms can help you make informed decisions about your care and feel more confident when discussing treatment choices with your healthcare team. Any time you come across medical terms you don’t understand, be sure to ask your doctor.

¹
National Cancer Institute, “BRCA1 gene,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/brca1-gene Accessed September 21, 2025.
²
National Cancer Institute, “BRCA2 gene,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/brca2-gene Accessed September 21, 2025.
³
National Cancer Institute, “Early-Stage Breast Cancer,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/early-stage-breast-cancer Accessed September 21, 2025.
⁴
American Cancer Society, “Estrogen Receptor (ER),” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/estrogen-receptor Accessed October 6, 2025.
⁵
National Cancer Institute, “HER2,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/her2 Accessed September 21, 2025.
⁶
American Cancer Society, “Breast Cancer HER2 Status,” Last Revised: January 29, 2025, https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/breast-cancer-her2-status.html Accessed September 22, 2025.
⁷
National Cancer Institute, “Hormone Receptor Status,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/hormone-receptor-status Accessed September 22, 2025.
⁸
National Cancer Institute, “Metastatic,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/metastatic Accessed September 21, 2025.
⁹
American Cancer Society, “Progesterone Receptor (PR),” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/progesterone-receptor Accessed October 6, 2025.
¹⁰
National Cancer Institute, “Triple-negative Breast Cancer,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/triple-negative-breast-cancer Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹¹
National Cancer Institute, “Neoadjuvant Therapy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/neoadjuvant-therapy Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹²
National Cancer Institute, “Lumpectomy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/lumpectomy Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹³
American Cancer Society, “Mastectomy,” https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/treatment/surgery-for-breast-cancer/mastectomy.html Accessed October 6, 2025.
¹⁴
National Cancer Institute, “Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/sentinel-lymph-node-biopsy Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹⁵
National Cancer Institute, “Axillary Lymph Node Dissection,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/axillary-lymph-node-dissection Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹⁶
National Cancer Institute, “Adjuvant Therapy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/adjuvant-therapy Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹⁷
National Library of Medicine, Bekes, Inga, and Jens Huober, “Extended Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Early Breast Cancer Patients – Review and Perspectives, Cancers vol. 15,16 4190. 21 Aug. 2023, doi:10.3390/cancers15164190, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10453164/ Accessed September 22, 2025.
¹⁸
National Cancer Institute, “Chemotherapy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/chemotherapy Accessed September 21, 2025.
¹⁹
National Cancer Institute, “Hormonal Therapy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/hormonal-therapy September 21, 2025.
²⁰
National Cancer Institute, “Radiation Therapy,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/radiation-therapy September 21, 2025.
²¹
National Cancer Institute, “Clinical Trial,” https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/clinical-trial Accessed September 21, 2025.
²²
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Patient-Friendly Language for Cancer Clinical Trials," Current as of February 16, 2021, https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/oncology-center-excellence/patient-friendly-language-cancer-clinical-trials Accessed September 21, 2025.

MRC-US-ALI-00095 10/25