There is controversy on just how aggressive we need to be in treating these common precancers. The following articles shed light on questions regarding the various treatment benefits.
Ductal carcinoma in situ: to treat or not to treat, that is the question
DCIS Summary
- missed invasive disease at DCIS diagnosis is reported up to 26%.
- confers a risk of 1–2% per year to develop into invasive disease
- studies estimate that 15% to 30% of DCIS cases may progress to invasive cancer if not treated.
- recurrence rates with 5 years median follow-up are 0.8% after mastectomy, 4.1% after breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy and 7.2% after breast-conserving surgery alone
- 50% reduction in the risk of local recurrences after radiotherapy
- adding radiotherapy to breast-conserving treatment reduces local recurrence rates but does not influence overall survival or breast-cancer-specific survival
- Tamoxifen administration did not influence overall survival
- percentage of women who reported side effects were 91% and 93% for anastrozole and tamoxifen, respectively.
