What is lobular breast cancer?

Lobular breast cancer is also known as invasive lobular breast cancer or invasive lobular carcinoma. It is a type of breast cancer where cancer cells in the glands that make milk when breastfeeding, known as lobules, have spread into the surrounding breast tissue.

The charity Lobular Breast Cancer UK has collaborated with the National Disease Registration Service to publish data on the number of people affected by lobular breast cancer. Its report shows that there are around 8,400 cases of lobular breast cancer in the UK each year, comprising around 15% of all breast cancer diagnoses.

Symptoms of lobular breast cancer

Lobular Breast Cancer UK has published a list of signs and symptoms of lobular breast cancer. These include:

  • a tugging sensation in the breast
  • changes in the skin of the breast, including dimpling, puckering or a dent
  • stabbing pains, or constant pain in the breast
  • a thickening area in the breast
  • new swelling or fullness in the breast
  • persistent itching on the skin or inside the breast
  • changes to the nipple, including inversion (pointing inward or lying flat) or pointing in a different direction
  • discharge or oozing from the nipple.

Diagnosis of lobular breast cancer

Unlike other breast cancers, lobular breast cancer tends to spread out in straight lines rather than amassing to form a firm lump. A person is more likely to have a thickened area of breast tissue as a symptom rather than a lump.

This can make lobular breast cancer difficult to detect in physical examination and when using imaging scans such as mammograms and ultrasound. Whilst most types of lobular breast cancer are slow-growing compared to other cancers,  tumours can often be large by the time that the cancer is diagnosed.

Research evidence indicates that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can produce detailed images of inside the breast, offers improved detection and characterisation of lobular breast cancer.

Screening for breast cancer

All women aged from 50 to 71 are invited for breast cancer screening every three years. NHS breast cancer screening uses x-ray scans called mammograms to look for cancers that may be too small to feel. More information on NHS breast screening can be found on the government website.

The government has published guidance on protocols for the surveillance of women at higher risk of developing breast cancer (updated in November 2025).

Treatment and guidelines for lobular breast cancer

There is no specific national standard treatment or guidelines for patients with lobular breast cancer. It is treated in the same way as more common types of invasive cancer. Treatment will depend on various factors including:

  • the size of the cancer and where it has spread
  • how abnormal the cancer cells look and whether they might respond to certain drugs
  • the health and fitness of the patient.

Potential treatment options include:

  • drug treatments before surgery, such as chemotherapy to shrink the cancer
  • surgery to remove the area of cancer and surrounding healthy tissue, known as breast conserving surgery, or removal of the whole breast, known as mastectomy
  • drug treatments after surgery, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted cancer drug therapy and drugs that help to prevent or slow down bone thinning or bone damage.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on early and locally advanced breast cancer and advanced breast cancer set out recommendations about the diagnosis and management of breast cancer, including lobular breast cancer.

The guidelines on early and locally advanced breast cancer include a specific recommendation to offer an MRI scan before surgery to assess tumour size where breast-conserving surgery is planned.

Research on lobular breast cancer

UK research on lobular breast cancer is funded by the government, via the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) and UKRI funding councils like the Medical Research Council (MRC), and by charities.

In November 2025, the NIHR published a highlight notice on invasive lobular carcinoma, to encourage applications from researchers studying lobular breast cancer. It invited researchers to submit proposals for research projects that could improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and care of patients with lobular breast cancer.

Lobular Breast Cancer UK has published information about UK-based research studies that it supports.

Internationally, the European Lobular Breast Cancer Consortium is a network of researchers focused on improving understanding, diagnosis and treatment of the condition. The US-based Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance maintains an online library of research studies focused on lobular breast cancer and an international clinical trial registry for patients with lobular breast cancer.

Calls for more research on lobular breast cancer

Charities, including Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance and Lobular Breast Cancer UK, and some MPs, have highlighted a need for research that focuses on lobular breast cancer and treatment pathways specifically for the condition.

The Lobular Moon Shot Project was set up in 2023 and aims to raise funds to support research to improve understanding of how lobular breast cancer develops and spreads, to identify new drugs that could be used to treat the condition and to test these in clinical trials. The project website says that its aim is to “galvanise political support to ensure vital research funding is made available by Governments, specifically for ILC [invasive lobular carcinoma]”. It is calling for an investment of £20 million over 5 years.

In response to calls for dedicated funding, the government has explained that research funding is not usually ring-fenced for research on specific health conditions. Instead, funding bodies consider applications from researchers and projects are selected for funding “through open and fair competition and peer review”.

The government has also highlighted the National Cancer Plan for England (February 2026) and its support for general cancer research.

In June 2026, John Milne MP (Lib Dem) introduced a private members’ bill, the Lobular Breast Cancer Bill in the House of Commons. The bill’s long title says it would “make provision about research into lobular breast cancer”. The bill’s second reading is scheduled for 11 September 2026.

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