Introduction: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive breast cancer. Without treatment, DCIS can progress to invasive breast cancer over time. So, all cases of DCIS are treated.
Treatment involves surgery, with or without radiation therapy. Some women may also take the hormone therapy drug tamoxifen.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is not given to women who are treated with mastectomy for DCIS.
Lumpectomy for DCIS is usually followed by radiation therapy to lower the risk of:
- Invasive breast cancer
- DCIS recurrence
Overall survival appears similar for women with DCIS who have lumpectomy with or without radiation therapy [1-2].
Learn more about treatment for DCIS.
Learn about the strengths and weaknesses of different types of studies.
Study selection criteria: Randomized clinical trials with at least 500 participants and 5 or more years of follow-up and meta-analyses.
Randomized clinical trials |
UK, Australia, New Zealand (UK/ANZ) DCIS Trial [3] | 1,694 | 13 | 4% | 9% | 88% | 90% |
Swedish Breast Cancer Group [4] | 1,046 | 20 | 10% | 14% | 77% | 73% |
European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [5] | 1,010 | 16 | 9% | 15% | 90% | 88% |
National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-17 [6] | 813 | 17 | 9% | 19% | 83% | 84% |
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group [7] | 636 | 7 | Less than 1% | 3% | 92% | 95% |
Meta-analyses |
Cochrane Collaboration [8] | 2 studies | | 5% | 11% | | |
Stuart et al. [9] | 9 studies | 10 | 7% | 11% | 97%† | 98%† |
* Invasive breast cancer in the same breast treated for DCIS
† Breast cancer survival (not overall survival)
References
- Goodwin A, Parker S, Ghersi D, Wilcken N. Post-operative radiotherapy for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. (4):CD000563, 2009.
- Correa C, McGale P, Taylor C, et al. for the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). Overview of the randomized trials of radiotherapy in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 2010(41):162-77, 2010.
- Cuzick J, Sestak I, Pinder SE, et al. Effect of tamoxifen and radiotherapy in women with locally excised ductal carcinoma in situ: long-term results from the UK/ANZ DCIS trial. Lancet Oncol. 12(1):21-9, 2011.
- Wärnberg F, Garmo H, Emdin S, et al. Effect of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ: 20 years follow-up in the randomized SweDCIS Trial. J Clin Oncol. 32:3613-18, 2014.
- Donker M, Litière S, Werutsky G, et al. Breast-conserving treatment with or without radiotherapy in ductal carcinoma in situ: 15-year recurrence rates and outcome after a recurrence, from the EORTC 10853 randomized phase III trial. J Clin Oncol. 31(32):4054-9, 2013.
- Wapnir IL, Dignam JJ, Fisher B, et al. Long-term outcomes of invasive ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences after lumpectomy in NSABP B-17 and B-24 randomized clinical trials for DCIS. J Natl Cancer Inst. 103(6):478-88, 2011.
- McCormick B, Winter K, Hudis C, et al. RTOG 9804: A prospective randomized trial for good-risk ductal carcinoma in situ comparing radiotherapy with observation. J Clin Oncol. 33(7):709-15, 2015.
- Goodwin A, Parker S, Ghersi D, Wilcken N. Post-operative radiotherapy for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 11:CD000563, 2013.
- Stuart KE, Houssami N, Taylor R, Hayen A, Boyages J. Long-term outcomes of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis. BMC Cancer. 15:890, 2015.