Early stage breast cancer often does not have typical signs and symptoms and is not easily noticed, but is often detected through physical examination or breast cancer screening. The following are the typical signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Breast cancer signs 1. Breast lumps 80% of breast cancer patients are first diagnosed with breast lumps. Breast lumps are often found unintentionally, most of them are single, hard, with irregular edges and a poorly smooth surface. Most breast cancer lumps are painless, but only a few are associated with varying degrees of vague pain or stabbing pain. The most common one is that the tumor invades Cooper’s ligament which connects the breast skin and deep pectoral muscle fascia, causing it to shorten and lose its elasticity, pulling the skin of the corresponding area, resulting in “dimple sign”, i.e. a small dimple in the breast skin, like a small dimple. If the cancer cells block the lymphatic ducts, “orange peel-like changes” will appear, i.e. the skin of the breast will have many small dots and depressions, just like an orange peel. In advanced stage of breast cancer, the cancer cells infiltrate into the skin along the lymphatic ducts, glandular ducts or fibrous tissues and grow, forming scattered hard nodules in the skin around the main cancer site, which is called “skin satellite nodules”. 3. Nipple overflow Blood, plasma, milk or pus flowing from nipples during non-pregnancy period, or milk still flowing even after stopping breastfeeding for more than half a year, is called nipple overflow. There are many causes of nipple overflow, and common diseases include intraductal papilloma, mastopexy, ductal dilatation and breast cancer. Unilateral single-hole hemorrhagic overflow should be further examined, and more attention should be paid if accompanied by breast lumps. 4. Abnormal nipple and areola Tumors located at or close to the deep nipple may cause nipple retraction. If the tumor is far away from the nipple and the large duct in the breast is invaded and shortened, it may also cause nipple retraction or elevation. Eczema-like carcinoma of the nipple, i.e. Paget’s disease of the breast, manifests as itching, erosion, rupture, crusting, flaking and burning pain of the nipple skin, resulting in nipple retraction. 5. Axillary lymph node swelling More than 1/3 of breast cancer patients admitted to large hospitals have axillary lymph node metastasis. At the initial stage, the lymph nodes in the axilla on the same side may be enlarged, and the enlarged lymph nodes are hard, scattered and pushable. As the disease progresses, the lymph nodes will gradually fuse and adhere to the skin and surrounding tissues. In the advanced stage, metastatic lymph nodes can be felt in the supraclavicular and contralateral axillae.