Breast cancer warning issued as common symptom won’t always appear

Lobular breast cancer affects 15 per cent of patients but rarely forms lumps, meaning symptoms are often missed or misdiagnosed until later stages, experts have warned.

Also known as invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), the disease begins in the lobules—the milk-producing glands—and spreads in a spider’s web pattern.

This growth makes it difficult to detect through self-checks or mammograms.

On 24 June, 22 women led by Lobular MoonShot Project (LMSP) founder Dr Susan Michaelis held a vigil outside 10 Downing Street and delivered a petition backed by more than 350 MPs, calling for urgent government funding for ILC research.

Dr Michaelis died of ILC on 9 July.

Kate Ford, a campaigner from LMSP, said: “The basic biology of this disease has never been studied and it has no specific treatment.

“ILC needs a moon shot approach – a fast injection of cash – to research funding.”

Despite being more common than ovarian or skin cancer, ILC is poorly understood and receives little targeted research funding.

According to Cancer Research UK, one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and around 15 per cent of those will have ILC.

ILC behaves differently from the more common ductal breast cancer, and symptoms rarely involve lumps.

Instead, signs can include an area of thickening or swelling, nipple inversion or discharge, skin changes such as dimpling, puckering or small marks, breast pain or itching, changes in size or shape, and swollen lymph nodes in the armpit.

Cancer Research UK also advises people to look for a rash or redness on the breast, a lump in the breast or armpit, or changes in nipple position.

GPs refer patients for further testing if ILC is suspected. Mammograms and ultrasound scans are often inconclusive, but MRI and biopsy are more effective for detection.

Treatment for ILC typically involves chemotherapy, surgery and drugs to reduce oestrogen, which the cancer uses to grow.

However, because chemotherapy works best on fast-dividing cells—and ILC divides more slowly—its effectiveness remains uncertain.

The Lobular MoonShot Project is campaigning for £20m in government funding to support research in partnership with the Manchester Breast Centre, led by Professor Rob Clarke.

Clarke said: “With this funding, we could potentially develop a drug and begin testing it on patients within the next five years.”