• Posted October 8, 2025

Rare, Dangerous Type Of Breast Cancer On The Rise In The U.S.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8, 2025 (HealthDay news) — A rare but dangerous form of breast cancer is on the rise in the United States, a new report says.

Lobular breast cancer rates are rising three times as fast as all other breast cancers combined, 2.8% per year versus 0.8% per year, researchers reported Oct. 7 in the journal Cancer.

“Although lobular breast cancer accounts for a little over 10% of all breast cancers, the sheer number of new diagnoses each year makes this disease important to understand,” said lead researcher Angela Giaquinto, an associate scientist for cancer surveillance research at the American Cancer Society (ACS).

“Also, survival rates beyond seven years are significantly lower for (lobular breast cancer) than the most common type of breast cancer, highlighting the pressing need for prevention and early detection strategies targeting this subtype to be brought to the forefront," Giaquinto added in a news release.

Lobular breast cancer develops in the milk-producing glands of the breast, which are called lobules, researchers said in background notes.

This form of breast cancer is typically lumped in with the most common subtype, ductal carcinoma — cancer that develops in the milk ducts, researchers said.

However, it appears and grows in ways different from other breast cancers, researchers said.

For example, lobular cancers grow in a dispersed pattern instead of forming a lump typical of other breast cancers, potentially delaying diagnosis.

For the new report, researchers analyzed data from cancer surveillance programs and registries to track lobular breast cancers in the U.S.

The researchers found that the steepest rise in lobular breast cancer cases is among Asian American/Pacific Islander women, with an increase of 4.4% per year.

White women have the highest case rate of lobular breast cancer, nearly 15 cases per 100,000 women, compared to 11 per 100,000 among Black women.

Compared to ductal cancer, lobular cancer has a slightly higher survival rate in the first seven years after diagnosis, as well as for cancers detected before they’ve spread, researchers said.

However, the 10-year survival rate is lower for women whose lobular breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or surrounding organs (78% versus 76%), or if their cancer has spread to farther parts of the body (20% versus 12%), results showed.

“Invasive lobular breast cancer is very understudied, probably because of a very good short-term prognosis. But at 10 years, these women with metastatic disease are half as likely to be alive as their counterparts with ductal cancer, probably because of the unique spread and resistance to therapy,” said senior researcher Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director for cancer surveillance research at the ACS.

“Our study underscores the need for much more information on lobular cancers across the board, from genetic studies to clinical trial data, so we can improve outcomes for the increasing number of women affected with this cancer,” Siegel concluded. in a news release.

More information

The National Breast Cancer Foundation has more on lobular breast cancer.

SOURCE: American Cancer Society, news release, Oct. 7, 2025

What This Means For You

Women should make sure they receive regular breast cancer screenings to improve their odds of early detection and successful treatment.