Common Causes
Many different conditions can cause peau d’orange. Peau d’orange in the breast may be a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer. With this type of cancer, rather than forming a tumor, the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels. This causes fluid to accumulate in the breast.
Related Conditions
While orange-peel skin is not always a sign of breast cancer, knowing about it and spotting it can be important for preventing a range of potentially harmful conditions and diseases. Seek medical attention if peau d’orange appears on the breast. Peau d’orange means “orange peel” in French, and refers to the appearance of the skin as bumpy.
What causes Peau d’Orange in the breast?
The skin condition might also be a result of an aggressive form of breast cancer and might accompany the enlargement of one breast, a “hot” feeling around the affected area, soreness, and redness. Seek treatment immediately if peau d’orange accompanies any of these symptoms in the breast area.
Is orange-peel skin a sign of breast cancer?
Physical examination: A doctor checks for signs of inflammatory breast cancer, including peau d’orange. Biopsy: The doctor extracts small tissue samples from the breast and sends them to a laboratory for examination under a microscope. A biopsy may also come from the lymph nodes under the arm.
What are the symptoms of Peau d’Orange?
How is Peau d’Orange cancer diagnosed?
Why does Peau d'orange happen?
Peau d'orange (French for orange peel) is characterized by edema and pitting and results from blockage of lymphatic drainage with or without associated stromal infiltration. The most common cause of breast peau d'orange is inflammatory breast cancer.
What else can cause orange peel breast?
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is rare, but aggressive, and can resemble an infection. It can cause breast skin to take on the appearance of an orange peel. IBC requires immediate treatment.
What is Peau d'orange appearance of the breast?
Peau d'orange (French for “orange peel”) is a condition that affects the skin on the breast. The skin may appear thick, pitted, firm, and bumpy—just like an orange peel. Peau d'orange may be associated with inflammatory breast cancer, but cancer isn't the only reason you might get it.
Why is breast cancer also described as manifesting with an orange peel appearance?
Peau d'orange in the breast may be a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer. With this type of cancer, rather than forming a tumor, the cancer cells block the lymphatic vessels. This causes fluid to accumulate in the breast. Fluid accumulation in the breast is known as edema, and it can make the breast appear inflamed.
What medical condition causes orange skin?
Carotenosis is a benign and reversible medical condition where an excess of dietary carotenoids results in orange discoloration of the outermost skin layer.
Where does IBC rash start?
Early IBC symptoms may include persistent itching and the appearance of a rash or small irritation similar to an insect bite. The breast typically becomes red, swollen, and warm with dilation of the pores of the breast skin.
How do you get rid of Peau d orange?
Infection. If a skin or soft tissue infection is causing peau d'orange, treating the underlying infection can help manage the effects. Treatment will vary depending on the cause of the infection. Antibiotic creams and ointments may help.
Is Peau d orange hair follicles?
Peau d'orange (French for "orange peel skin" or, more literally, "skin of an orange") describes a phenomenon in which hair follicles become buried in edema, giving the skin an orange peel appearance. Peau d'orange can be caused by cutaneous lymphatic edema, which causes swelling.
Can IBC be cured?
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) that has not spread outside the breast is stage III. In most cases, treatment is chemotherapy first to try to shrink the tumor, followed by surgery to remove the cancer. Radiation and often other treatments, like more chemotherapy or targeted drug therapy, are given after surgery.
What were your first signs of inflammatory breast cancer?
What Are the Early Signs and Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer?Pain in the breast.Skin changes in the breast area. ... A bruise on the breast that doesn't go away.Sudden swelling of the breast.Itching of the breast.Nipple changes or discharge.Swelling of the lymph nodes under the arm or in the neck.
What are the three most common sites of breast metastases?
The most common parts of the body where breast cancer tends to spread (metastasize) are the bones, lungs, brain, and liver.
Is breast cancer more common in left breast?
Fact 6: Breast cancer is more common in the left breast than the right. The left breast is 5 - 10% more likely to develop cancer than the right breast. The left side of the body is also roughly 5% more prone to melanoma (a type of skin cancer).
What causes peau d'orange?
Fluid buildup is the main cause of peau d’orange. Lots of things can cause that buildup, not just cancer. In lymphedema, for example, excess lymph fluid builds up. Normally, your lymphatic system helps filter and clear your body, including your breasts, of bacteria, other germs, and waste.
What does "peau d'orange" mean?
Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Edema. Peau d’orange means "skin of an orange. ". In terms of your skin, it's not a disease, but a symptom of something else. Swelling causes it; usually because of fluid buildup (your doctor may call it edema ). The top layer of your skin (called the epidermis) expands to make room for the swelling.
What causes edema in the breast?
Other causes of edema are: Blocked milk duct ( mastitis) Connective tissue disorder ( scleroderma, sarcoidosis) Infection. Heart failure. Thyroid disease. Reaction to pain or blood pressure medications.
What causes peau d'orange?
Inflammatory breast cancer. One of the most serious causes of peau d’orange is inflammatory breast cancer, a rare type of cancer that makes up only between one and five out of 100 breast cancers, or 1–5 percent of diagnoses. In this type of cancer, the breast tissue becomes inflamed due to the blockage of the small lymph ducts inside ...
What does "peau d'orange" mean?
Preventing breast cancer. Takeaway. Peau d’orange is a French term meaning “orange peel” or “orange skin.”. It is used to describe a symptom in which the skin becomes thick and pitted, with a texture and appearance similar to that of orange peel. Redness and tenderness of the skin, scaling, and a dark coloring sometimes accompany.
How to prevent inflammatory breast cancer?
Although preventing inflammatory breast cancer may not be possible, the following steps may help reduce its chances of developing or spreading: being able to identify the symptoms, such as peau d’orange. receiving regular, age-appropriate screenings. regular exercise, a balanced diet, reducing alcohol intake.
Why does skin look orange?
Possible causes of lymphedema are infection of the lymph nodes, cancer and cancer treatment, and surgical removal of the lymph nodes. Although there is no cure for lymphedema, there are treatments that can help reduce the swelling and pain. These include:
What does it mean when you have orange peel?
Peau d’orange means “orange peel” in French, and refers to the appearance of the skin as bumpy. Other symptoms, such as redness and soreness, might accompany orange peel skin. It can point to a range of conditions, such as cellulite, which is very common in women, several types of infections, and lymph disorders, ...
How do doctors diagnose breast cancer?
A doctor makes a diagnosis using the following methods: Physical examination: A doctor checks for signs of inflammatory breast cancer, including peau d’orange. Biopsy: The doctor extracts small tissue samples from the breast and sends them to a laboratory for examination under a microscope.
Why does my breast feel hot?
Each cause requires a different treatment depending on the underlying condition. The skin condition might also be a result of an aggressive form of breast cancer and might accompany the enlargement of one breast, a “hot” feeling around the affected area, soreness, and redness.
What causes a dimpled breast?
Fat necrosis is the death of fat tissue, which sometimes accompanies breast cancer or postsurgical sites. Fat necrosis is another cause of dimpled skin of the breast.
Why is my breast not a cellulite?
It is commonly seen with cellulite, but this is not common on the breast. It can also occur due to lymphedema, or the buildup of lymphatic fluid in tissues. This can occur when there is blockage of the lymphatic drainage system, such as the lymph nodes of the armpit (axilla) in the case of the breast.
What are the symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer?
Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain in the breast, skin change in the breast area, bruise on the breast,sudden swelling of the breast, nipple retraction or discharge, and swelling of the lymph nodes.
What are the risk factors for breast cancer in young women?
Some risk factors for breast cancer in young women include a personal history of breast cancer or breast disease, family history of breast cancer, prior radiation therapy, and the presence of BRCA1/BRCA2 gene mutations. Breast self-exams, clinical breast exams, and screening mammograms may help detect breast cancer.
What does it mean when your breast is dimpled?
See additional information. The term "dimpled breast" refers to a puckering, or dimpling, of the skin overlying the breast. This has been referred to as "peau d'orange" skin, after the French term literally meaning skin of an orange. Dimpled breast skin is sometimes caused by breast cancers, especially the type of breast cancer known as ...
What causes cellulite on the face?
Fat deposits that distort connective tissues under the skin, result ing in a dimpled appearance of the skin, cause cellulite. Gender, skin thickness, heredity, and the amount and distribution of body fat all influence the presence and visibility of cellulite.
What is the breast?
Picture of Breast Anatomy. The breast refers to the front of the chest or, more specifically, to the mammary gland. See a picture of Breast Anatomy and...
What does it mean when your breast looks like an orange peel?
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is rare, but aggressive, and can resemble an infection. It can cause breast skin to take on the appearance of an orange peel. IBC requires immediate treatment.
How does breast cancer develop?
Inflammatory breast cancer develops when cancer cells block lymph vessels. These tubes, which are hollow, allow lymph fluid to drain out of the breast. In most cases of IBC, cancer cells spread outward (metastasize) from lymph vessels. When cancer metastasizes, it affects the skin and other organs and is more difficult to treat.
What is the procedure to remove breast cancer?
Many women also have surgery to remove the entire affected breast and nearby lymph nodes. This procedure is known as a mastectomy or modified radical mastectomy. Following surgery, your doctor may recommend radiation therapy or other treatments, like hormone therapy, to target remaining cancer cells.
What is the purpose of a breast biopsy?
The biopsy results allow your doctor to stage the cancer, or determine whether it has spread outside the breast tissue. Biopsies also help doctors discover whether cancer cells may benefit from certain targeted therapies, like hormone drugs.
What age do women get breast cancer?
The condition occurs at a median age of 57 in women, which is younger than the median age for other breast cancers. It happens more often in African American women than white women, and in women who are overweight or obese.
Can breast cancer cause a rash?
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is rare and is sometimes thought to be some kind of infection. However, this kind of cancer can develop and spread quickly (said to be aggressive). It causes redness, swelling, and dimpling in the affected breast. IBC does not usually cause lumps to form in breast tissue. Instead, it appears as a rash ...
