Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) care at Mayo Clinic
At Mayo Clinic, people with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) receive care from specialists who focus on breast cancer and its many subtypes. Care teams work together to deliver highly personalized care, combining advanced diagnostics, tumor-specific insights and thoughtful treatment planning. Mayo Clinic is consistently ranked among the nation's top hospitals for cancer care and is known for providing coordinated, patient-centered care.
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Breast medicine specialists in the Mayo Clinic Breast Clinic coordinate care with experts in many other specialties. These internal medicine doctors who focus solely on caring for people with breast cancer and other breast conditions will meet with you to understand your needs and make recommendations for the next steps. Often, your appointments can be coordinated over a matter of days in one facility.
Mayo Clinic uses a team-based approach to care. Doctors from many specialties work closely together. A team of specialists discusses each person's condition in order to develop a shared treatment plan. This coordinated model helps ensure that decisions are aligned from the start and reflect the full picture of your health and your cancer.
Your breast cancer care team might include:
If you have other health conditions that could be affected by cancer treatment, your team may include additional specialists. For instance, cardiologists from the Cardio-Oncology Clinic may join your team if you have concerns related to your heart. If there are concerns about your kidneys, nephrologists from the Onco-Nephrology Clinic may join your team.
Care extends beyond cancer treatment and may include support for fertility preservation, sexual health and integrative approaches such as acupuncture and stress management. Mayo Clinic offers many breast cancer supportive therapy and survivorship services.
Advanced diagnosis
Invasive lobular carcinoma can be more challenging to detect and evaluate than other types of breast cancer. Mayo Clinic offers advanced tools that help improve accuracy and reduce uncertainty at diagnosis.
- Comprehensive breast imaging. A range of imaging technologies, including breast MRI, molecular breast imaging and contrast-enhanced mammography, helps provide a more complete view of the cancer. These tools can be especially useful for detecting invasive lobular carcinoma in dense breast tissue or when standard imaging results are unclear.
- Specialized imaging for ILC. Mayo Clinic offers fluoroestradiol (FES) positron emission tomography (PET) scans to detect advanced estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. It can be especially helpful for ILC, which often is ER positive and may be harder to evaluate with standard imaging. FES PET sometimes helps when other imaging tests aren't clear. At Mayo Clinic, FES PET scans are combined with MRI scans for more detailed imaging.
- Expertise in pathology. Pathologists who are experts in breast cancer review biopsy and surgical samples to make an accurate diagnosis. They provide accurate and timely information about the cancer, such as hormone receptor status and HER2 status, to help your care team plan for your treatment.
- Coordinated treatment planning. A multidisciplinary team reviews your situation early in the process. Your treatment plan is based on the characteristics of your cancer, including tumor size, lymph node involvement and tumor biology, as well as your preferences. Treatment options are tailored to each person and may include surgery, systemic therapies and radiation.
Advanced treatment
Once your diagnosis is confirmed, Mayo Clinic offers a full range of treatment options tailored to the specific characteristics of your invasive lobular carcinoma and your individual needs.
- Personalized treatment. Surgical treatment options include breast-conserving therapy and mastectomy, including robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy. Other treatments include systemic therapies, such as estrogen blocker therapy and targeted therapy, and radiation approaches that are tailored to your needs.
- Precision radiation options. Mayo Clinic provides many options for radiation therapy treatment, including proton therapy. Proton therapy allows your care team to precisely target the radiation to the cancer while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue. This may be particularly helpful for treating cancers near the heart and lungs. Mayo Clinic also offers shorter treatment schedules and ways of positioning the body during treatment that can help reduce side effects.
- Multidisciplinary care for brain metastases. Expert teams of specialists in breast cancer, neuro-oncology, neuroradiology and radiation oncology work together to care for people with brain metastases and leptomeningeal metastases. These complex conditions happen when cancer spreads to the brain or the tissues and fluid that surround the brain and spinal cord. Mayo Clinic coordinates care to support accurate diagnosis and help guide treatment using advanced imaging and a range of therapies.
- Access to clinical trials. Mayo Clinic participates in clinical trials for invasive lobular carcinoma and has an extensive clinical trials program for breast cancer across its campuses. Participation in clinical trials may provide access to emerging therapies and additional treatment options. As part of routine care, patients may be evaluated for clinical trial opportunities.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors are widely respected for their expertise and experience in diagnosing and treating invasive lobular carcinoma and other types of breast cancer.
Outside organizations recognize Mayo Clinic breast cancer specialists through accreditations, grants and rankings:
- Mayo Clinic is one of a select group of medical centers in the United States to be recognized as a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) for breast cancer research, funded by the National Cancer Institute. To earn a highly competitive SPORE grant, institutions must demonstrate a high degree of collaboration between first-rate scientists and clinicians and show excellence in translational research projects.
- Mayo Clinic doctors and researchers participate in research cooperatives, such as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, which gives people with cancer access to the latest clinical trials.
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a U.S. National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is ranked as the top hospital in Minnesota and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, is ranked as the top hospital in Arizona.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.
Aug. 07, 2026