Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Treatment Cost in India

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma treatment in India typically ranges from $3,000 to $15,000 USD, depending on the hospital, city, and type of procedure.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common type of invasive breast cancer. Treatment follows breast cancer principles, but some features of ILC affect planning and cost:

• Imaging: breast MRI is often used because ILC can be hard to see on a mammogram.
• Surgery: lumpectomy or mastectomy, with lymph node surgery.
• Hormone therapy: most ILCs are hormone receptor-positive, so long-term endocrine therapy is common.
• Radiotherapy and chemotherapy: depending on stage and risk.

The Susan G. Komen organisation notes that ILC cells tend to grow in a single-file line or sheet rather than forming a firm lump. This leads to:

• Harder detection: findings on screening mammograms may be subtle, and a lump may only form later.
• Larger size than expected: ILC may extend further than imaging suggests, so margins need careful planning.
• Hormone receptor-positive biology: ILC is usually oestrogen receptor-positive and HER2-negative, and tends to grow slowly.
• Different imaging for recurrence: Komen reports that oestrogen-targeted PET scans (FES-PET) can find lobular cancer that other scans miss when spread is suspected.

• Breast MRI before surgery: helps assess tumour size and whether there is disease elsewhere in either breast.
• Margins: re-excision is sometimes needed if cancer is found at the edge of the removed tissue.
• Mastectomy: may be advised for larger or multifocal tumours.
• Reconstruction: can often be done at the same time.

• Surgery visit: around two weeks for surgery, recovery and pathology.
• Radiotherapy: usually several weeks after lumpectomy; this can sometimes be done at home.
• Hormone therapy: tablets for five years or longer, continued locally.
• Records: mammogram, ultrasound, MRI and biopsy report with hormone receptor status.