Open AccessTowards optimal treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ
Author(s) -
Christina Choy,
Kefah Mokbel
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
world journal of clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2218-4333
DOI - 10.5306/wjco.v5.i3.194
Subject(s) - medicine , ductal carcinoma , breast cancer , mastectomy , malignancy , tamoxifen , sentinel node , oncology , radiation therapy , wide local excision , biopsy , adjuvant , cancer , stage (stratigraphy) , surgery , paleontology , biology
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-obligate precursor of invasive breast cancer with a variable biological behavior which is difficult to accurately predict using the current clinico-pathological parameters. Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) reduces the risk of local recurrence after adequate local excision of DCIS. Tamoxifen may be considered as an adjuvant endocrine treatment in patients with high risk estrogen receptor positive disease. There is however a growing consensus that RT can be safely omitted in a subgroup of patients with favorable biological features in order to avoid overtreatment. The sentinel node biopsy is not routinely indicated but should be considered in women undergoing mastectomy for DCIS. The discovery of molecular signatures that accurately predict the biological behavior of this common malignancy will facilitate a personalized treatment approach in the future.