Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFrequent SymptomsRare SymptomsComplicationsWhen to See a ProviderFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Frequent Symptoms
Rare Symptoms
Complications
When to See a Provider
Frequently Asked Questions
Breast canceroccurs when cells within one or both breasts grow uncontrollably.One type of breast cancer is human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer. This type has abnormally high levels ofHER2, a protein found on the surface of breast cells that controls how the cells grow and divide.
HER2-negative breast cancers, in contrast, have normal levels of the HER2 protein. This type of cancer accounts for around 70% of all breast cancer cases.
This article highlights the possible symptoms of HER2-negative breast cancer, including signs of cancer cells spreading throughout the body.
Jelena Stanojkovic / Getty Images
The symptoms of HER2-negative breast cancer are similar to that of HER-2 positive breast cancer.
Breast Lump
The most common first symptom of breast cancer is a new breast lump.
A breast cancer lump is classically firm, painless, irregularly shaped, and fixed to one spot within breast tissue, including the armpit area. It can be located near the surface of the breast or felt deeper inside.
Noncancerous Breast Lumps
Other Symptoms
Besides a breast lump, other symptoms of HER2-negative breast cancer may include:
Nipple Color and Other Changes
Symptoms of Metastasis
A critical difference between HER2-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer is that HER2-positive breast cancer tends to grow andmetastasize(spread to other parts of the body) faster.
After the lymph nodes, common sites of breast cancer metastasis and corresponding symptoms include:
Where Breast Cancer Spreads
HER2-negative breast cancers (and other types of breast cancer) uncommonly spread to the bladder, thyroid, heart, spleen, and adrenal gland. If they do, they may cause these symptoms:
Breast cancer treatment aims to suppress the growth and spread of breast cancer cells and prevent the disease from returning.
The primary treatment methods for HER2-negative breast cancer include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy.
Complications from treatment vary depending on the method used but may include one or more of the following:
How Breast Cancer Is Treated
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Breast size, shape, and feel vary from person to person. These characteristics can also change with age, menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding, certain medications, and weight changes.
See a healthcare provider if you experience any breast signs or symptoms that worry you, especially if you feel a new lump or mass or notice any nipple changes or discharge. This is recommended for people of any sex. While breast cancer happens less often in males than in females,it does occur.
Some people with breast cancer experience no symptoms, which is why screening is essential for some populations. Screening is intended for people with no symptoms of breast cancer and is not used when seeking a diagnosis. Guidelines on when to start and how often to get screened vary a bit.
The American Cancer Society recommends that all women at average risk for breast cancer get a yearly mammogram at age 45. Women can begin screening at age 40 if they choose.The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises all average-risk women to get a mammogram every two years from age 40 to 74.
People who are transgender or intersex should talk to a healthcare provider to see if breast cancer screening is recommended for them. Screening is not recommended for men at average risk.
What Is a Mammogram?Amammogramis an X-ray picture of the breast. It can reveal abnormal areas, including cancer, in the breast before they are felt or visible.
What Is a Mammogram?
Amammogramis an X-ray picture of the breast. It can reveal abnormal areas, including cancer, in the breast before they are felt or visible.
Average risk for breast cancer means the following is not present:
Summary
HER2 is a protein typically found on the surface of breast cells. HER2-positive breast cancers have higher than normal levels of HER2, whereas HER2-negative breast cancers do not.
HER2-negative breast cancer causes symptoms (if present) like other kinds of breast cancer. The most common first symptom is a firm, painless breast lump. If not treated, HER2-negative breast cancer can spread to other body parts, typically the liver, lungs, bones, or brain.
A Word From Verywell
If you are worried about developing breast cancer, know that early detection, when more treatment options are available, is crucial. Also, while some factors that increase your risk for breast cancer, like age or genetic makeup, are out of your control, others are not.
When minimizing your risk for breast cancer, focus your efforts on living a healthy lifestyle. Behaviors like maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in regular physical activity, and avoiding or limiting alcohol intake can all lower your chances of getting breast cancer.
Frequently Asked QuestionsIf not treated, breast cancer becomes fatal. It can spread to surrounding tissues, and eventually distant organs, like the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.Learn MoreHow Long Can You Wait for Breast Cancer Treatment?Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2022.“Invasive” means that the cancer cells have started growing into the surrounding breast tissue.Learn MoreBreast Cancer Facts and StatisticsYes. Only around 5% to 10% of breast cancers are due to a genetic mutation passed down from a parent.For patients with HER2-positive breast cancer,targeted drugs, includingHerceptin(trastuzumab)andPerjeta(pertuzumab), have significantly improved the survival rate of patients. Since these drugs target the protein HER2, they are not used to treat HER2-negative breast cancers.
If not treated, breast cancer becomes fatal. It can spread to surrounding tissues, and eventually distant organs, like the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.Learn MoreHow Long Can You Wait for Breast Cancer Treatment?
If not treated, breast cancer becomes fatal. It can spread to surrounding tissues, and eventually distant organs, like the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.
Learn MoreHow Long Can You Wait for Breast Cancer Treatment?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2022.“Invasive” means that the cancer cells have started growing into the surrounding breast tissue.Learn MoreBreast Cancer Facts and Statistics
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2022.“Invasive” means that the cancer cells have started growing into the surrounding breast tissue.
Learn MoreBreast Cancer Facts and Statistics
Yes. Only around 5% to 10% of breast cancers are due to a genetic mutation passed down from a parent.
For patients with HER2-positive breast cancer,targeted drugs, includingHerceptin(trastuzumab)andPerjeta(pertuzumab), have significantly improved the survival rate of patients. Since these drugs target the protein HER2, they are not used to treat HER2-negative breast cancers.
15 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Key statistics for breast cancer.National Cancer Institute.HER2 genetic link to breast cancer spurs development of new treatments.Koo MM, von Wagner C, Abel GA, et al.Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis.Cancer Epidemiol. 2017;48:140-146. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2017.04.010Stachs A, Stubert J, Reimer T, Hartmann S.Benign breast disease in women.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(33-34):565-574. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0565American Cancer Society.Breast cancer signs and symptoms.Khan NAJ, Abdallah M, Tirona MT.Hormone receptor positive/HER2 negative breast cancer with isolated bladder metastasis: a rare case.J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2021;9:23247096211022186. doi:10.1177/23247096211022186Plonczak AM, DiMarco AN, Dina R, Gujral DM, Palazzo FF.Breast cancer metastases to the thyroid gland - an uncommon sentinel for diffuse metastatic disease: a case report and review of the literature.J Med Case Rep. 2017;11(1):269. doi:10.1186/s13256-017-1441-xMallapasi MN, Kusumanegara J, Kabo P, et al.Cardiac metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer mimicking myxoma: A case report.Int J Surg Case Rep. 2021;88:106552. doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.106552El Fadli M, Kerrou K, Alaoui Mhamdi H, et al.Breast cancer metastasis to the spleen: a case report and literature review.Oxf Med Case Reports. 2017;2017(12):omx069. doi:10.1093/omcr/omx069Yalaza M, İnan A, Bozer M.Male breast cancer.J Breast Health. 2016;12(1):1-8. doi:10.5152/tjbh.2015.2711American Cancer Society.American Cancer Society recommendations for the early detection of breast cancer.US Preventive Services Task Force, Nicholson WK, Silverstein M, et al.Screening for breast cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. Published online April 30, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.5534American Society of Clinical Oncology.Tests to help diagnose breast cancer in men.American Cancer Society.Can I lower my risk of breast cancer?Apostolou P, Fostira F.Hereditary breast cancer: the era of new susceptibility genes.Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:747318. doi:10.1155/2013/747318
15 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Key statistics for breast cancer.National Cancer Institute.HER2 genetic link to breast cancer spurs development of new treatments.Koo MM, von Wagner C, Abel GA, et al.Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis.Cancer Epidemiol. 2017;48:140-146. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2017.04.010Stachs A, Stubert J, Reimer T, Hartmann S.Benign breast disease in women.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(33-34):565-574. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0565American Cancer Society.Breast cancer signs and symptoms.Khan NAJ, Abdallah M, Tirona MT.Hormone receptor positive/HER2 negative breast cancer with isolated bladder metastasis: a rare case.J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2021;9:23247096211022186. doi:10.1177/23247096211022186Plonczak AM, DiMarco AN, Dina R, Gujral DM, Palazzo FF.Breast cancer metastases to the thyroid gland - an uncommon sentinel for diffuse metastatic disease: a case report and review of the literature.J Med Case Rep. 2017;11(1):269. doi:10.1186/s13256-017-1441-xMallapasi MN, Kusumanegara J, Kabo P, et al.Cardiac metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer mimicking myxoma: A case report.Int J Surg Case Rep. 2021;88:106552. doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.106552El Fadli M, Kerrou K, Alaoui Mhamdi H, et al.Breast cancer metastasis to the spleen: a case report and literature review.Oxf Med Case Reports. 2017;2017(12):omx069. doi:10.1093/omcr/omx069Yalaza M, İnan A, Bozer M.Male breast cancer.J Breast Health. 2016;12(1):1-8. doi:10.5152/tjbh.2015.2711American Cancer Society.American Cancer Society recommendations for the early detection of breast cancer.US Preventive Services Task Force, Nicholson WK, Silverstein M, et al.Screening for breast cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. Published online April 30, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.5534American Society of Clinical Oncology.Tests to help diagnose breast cancer in men.American Cancer Society.Can I lower my risk of breast cancer?Apostolou P, Fostira F.Hereditary breast cancer: the era of new susceptibility genes.Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:747318. doi:10.1155/2013/747318
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Cancer Society.Key statistics for breast cancer.National Cancer Institute.HER2 genetic link to breast cancer spurs development of new treatments.Koo MM, von Wagner C, Abel GA, et al.Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis.Cancer Epidemiol. 2017;48:140-146. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2017.04.010Stachs A, Stubert J, Reimer T, Hartmann S.Benign breast disease in women.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(33-34):565-574. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0565American Cancer Society.Breast cancer signs and symptoms.Khan NAJ, Abdallah M, Tirona MT.Hormone receptor positive/HER2 negative breast cancer with isolated bladder metastasis: a rare case.J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2021;9:23247096211022186. doi:10.1177/23247096211022186Plonczak AM, DiMarco AN, Dina R, Gujral DM, Palazzo FF.Breast cancer metastases to the thyroid gland - an uncommon sentinel for diffuse metastatic disease: a case report and review of the literature.J Med Case Rep. 2017;11(1):269. doi:10.1186/s13256-017-1441-xMallapasi MN, Kusumanegara J, Kabo P, et al.Cardiac metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer mimicking myxoma: A case report.Int J Surg Case Rep. 2021;88:106552. doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.106552El Fadli M, Kerrou K, Alaoui Mhamdi H, et al.Breast cancer metastasis to the spleen: a case report and literature review.Oxf Med Case Reports. 2017;2017(12):omx069. doi:10.1093/omcr/omx069Yalaza M, İnan A, Bozer M.Male breast cancer.J Breast Health. 2016;12(1):1-8. doi:10.5152/tjbh.2015.2711American Cancer Society.American Cancer Society recommendations for the early detection of breast cancer.US Preventive Services Task Force, Nicholson WK, Silverstein M, et al.Screening for breast cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. Published online April 30, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.5534American Society of Clinical Oncology.Tests to help diagnose breast cancer in men.American Cancer Society.Can I lower my risk of breast cancer?Apostolou P, Fostira F.Hereditary breast cancer: the era of new susceptibility genes.Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:747318. doi:10.1155/2013/747318
American Cancer Society.Key statistics for breast cancer.
National Cancer Institute.HER2 genetic link to breast cancer spurs development of new treatments.
Koo MM, von Wagner C, Abel GA, et al.Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis.Cancer Epidemiol. 2017;48:140-146. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2017.04.010
Stachs A, Stubert J, Reimer T, Hartmann S.Benign breast disease in women.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019;116(33-34):565-574. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2019.0565
American Cancer Society.Breast cancer signs and symptoms.
Khan NAJ, Abdallah M, Tirona MT.Hormone receptor positive/HER2 negative breast cancer with isolated bladder metastasis: a rare case.J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2021;9:23247096211022186. doi:10.1177/23247096211022186
Plonczak AM, DiMarco AN, Dina R, Gujral DM, Palazzo FF.Breast cancer metastases to the thyroid gland - an uncommon sentinel for diffuse metastatic disease: a case report and review of the literature.J Med Case Rep. 2017;11(1):269. doi:10.1186/s13256-017-1441-x
Mallapasi MN, Kusumanegara J, Kabo P, et al.Cardiac metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer mimicking myxoma: A case report.Int J Surg Case Rep. 2021;88:106552. doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.106552
El Fadli M, Kerrou K, Alaoui Mhamdi H, et al.Breast cancer metastasis to the spleen: a case report and literature review.Oxf Med Case Reports. 2017;2017(12):omx069. doi:10.1093/omcr/omx069
Yalaza M, İnan A, Bozer M.Male breast cancer.J Breast Health. 2016;12(1):1-8. doi:10.5152/tjbh.2015.2711
American Cancer Society.American Cancer Society recommendations for the early detection of breast cancer.
US Preventive Services Task Force, Nicholson WK, Silverstein M, et al.Screening for breast cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement.JAMA. Published online April 30, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.5534
American Society of Clinical Oncology.Tests to help diagnose breast cancer in men.
American Cancer Society.Can I lower my risk of breast cancer?
Apostolou P, Fostira F.Hereditary breast cancer: the era of new susceptibility genes.Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:747318. doi:10.1155/2013/747318
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