Online Books > Ductal Carcinoma in situ Of The Breast (DCIS): A Guide For Patients

Summary

• Ductal carcinoma in situ is a form of pre-malignant breast cancer. With appropriate treatment, these tumors can be very effectively con-trolled, and will have a very low death rate due to cancer.

• Because DCIS is not yet invasive, it does not have the ability to spread to the lymph nodes of the axilla and to the rest of the body.

• If not treated, DCIS may progress to invasive breast cancer.

• Comedocarcinoma is one subtype of DCIS. It tends to be more aggres-sive than the other forms of DCIS, but with effective treatment will also have a very high cure rate.

• There are several treatment options for small, solitary tumors of DCIS-- lumpectomy alone, lumpectomy and radiation, or simple mastectomy.

• For slightly larger lesions, and comedocarcinomas, without evidence of multifocal lesions, there are two options, lumpectomy and radiation therapy or simple mastectomy.

• Very large lesions and extensive or multifocal lesions are best treated with simple mastectomy, and should not be considered for any form of breast sparing treatment.

• Because DCIS does not spread to the axillary lymph nodes, there is no need to perform lymph node surgery as part of the treatment.

• DCIS does not spread to the rest of the body, so chemotherapy and other drug treatment is not necessary for this disease.

• Patients who have had DCIS treated sucessfully in one breast are at risk of developing cancer in their opposite breast, and require life-long follow-up care.

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