Ductal Carcinoma occurs in the ducts of your breasts, which are the tubes that carry milk from the lobules (which make milk) to the nipples. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma is a condition in which the cancer cells in the ducts of your breast have penetrated the basement membrane of the ducts (the bottom of the tube) and therefore invaded the breast tissue, giving the cancer cells access to blood and lymph vessels. Because of this access, your cancer now has the potential to spread to other areas of the body. IDC can be Stage I, II, III, or IV if it has metastasized. For more information on staging, click here. 

Treatment Options 
Treatment options differ for invasive ductal carcinoma based on the molecular biomarkers that your cancer has (ER/PR/HER2). 

Local Therapies 
Local therapies are therapies that are meant to eliminate the cancer cells in the breast. The two main types of local therapies are surgery and radiation therapy.
Surgery/Radiation Therapy 
If your ILC is stage I, II, or III, surgery (most likely coupled with one or more of the systemic therapies below) may be a part of your treatment plan in order to remove the cancerous cells from your breast. Surgical options include a lumpectomy or mastectomy, sometimes coupled with radiation therapy, depending on the size and grade of the cancer.  If your ILC is stage IV, surgery is usually not an effective treatment, as the cancer has already spread; however radiation therapy may be beneficial, and systemic therapy will most likely be your main line of treatment. To learn more about surgery or radiation therapy, click on the underlined names.

Systemic Therapy
Systemic therapies are therapies meant to inhibit cancer growth and spread throughout the body, rather than solely in the breast. Systemic therapies are the main treatment for stage IV/Metastatic breast cancers, and are also used to prevent stage I, II, or III cancers from recurring after surgery or to prevent in situ (stage 0) cancers from becoming invasive. The type of systemic therapy you will receive will most likely be based on the molecular subtype of your cancer, or, in other words, which biomarkers your cancer cells possess (ER, PR, and/or HER2).Systemic therapy includes hormone therapy, targeted therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy
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1) Hormone Therapy 
Hormone therapy is a treatment option for those who have Hormone Receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer, meaning the cancer is ER (Estrogen Receptor) and/or PR (progesterone receptor) positive. There are two main types of hormone therapy: Selective Estrogen Receptor Antagonists (SERMS) such as tamoxifen and raloxifene, and Aromatase Inhibitors such as exemestane and letrozole. To learn more about hormone therapy, click here. 
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2) Targeted Therapy
The most common type of targeted therapy is HER2 targeted therapy, for those who have HER2+ cancers. These therapies block HER2, a receptor that sets off a downstream path that allows cancer cells to divide quickly. Common HER2 directed therapies include tratuzumab and pertuzamab. However, there are other types of targeted therapies including targeted therapies for hormone receptor positive cancers (such as CDK4/6 inhibitors and P13K inhibitors), targeted therapies for those with the BCRA mutations (PARP inhibitors), and targeted therapies for those with Triple Negative Breast Cancers (antibody drug conjugates).
To learn more about targeted therapies, click here. 
 
3) Chemotherapy 
Chemotherapy is an option for stages I, II, III, and IV. If your cancer is ER, PR, or HER2 positive, chemotherapy may be coupled with hormone or targeted therapy, depending on the stage, grade, and recurrence risk or your cancer.   However, if your cancer is Triple Negative (TNBC/basal like) your doctor will almost always prescribe chemotherapy as a line of treatment. The most common chemotherapies are anthracyclines (also known as adriamycins) such as doxorubicin and epirubicin and taxanes such as paclitaxel and doxetaxal. To learn more about chemotherapy, click here.
 
4) Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is an innovative treatment option that is showing promising outcomes, especially in later stage TNBC. Immunotherapy works through inhibiting checkpoint proteins that hide cancer cells from t-cells (your bodies immune system cells), therefore allowing your immune system to find and attack cancer cells. To learn more about immunotherapy, click here.