Category: Latest Research

New DCIS Radiation Findings Presented at SABCS: What High-Risk Patients Should Know

At the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) in December, researchers presented updated results from a large international clinical trial examining radiation treatment after surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The study offers important insights into how radiation can reduce the chance of DCIS returning in the same breast — particularly for people considered at higher risk of recurrence.

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Can Biopsy Alone Help Identify Which DCIS Is Truly “Low Risk”?

For many women diagnosed with DCIS, one of the toughest questions is whether surgery is truly necessary — especially if the DCIS looks low-risk. The idea of active monitoring (close follow-up with imaging and exams, without immediate surgery) is gaining attention in clinical trials. But one challenge remains: how can doctors be sure a biopsy really shows the whole truth about the DCIS?

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Polygenic Risk Score May Help Personalize Risk Prediction for DCIS and LCIS

When someone is diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), one of the toughest questions is: What happens next? Not all in situ lesions progress to invasive cancer, yet many people feel pressure to treat aggressively for fear of missing something.

A new study from the American Association for Cancer Research suggests a promising—but still tentative—tool: a polygenic risk score (PRS), a number based on hundreds of inherited genetic variants. This approach may someday help personalize risk predictions for future breast events after an in situ diagnosis.

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Are Death Rates from Breast Cancer After Initial DCIS Diagnosis Going Down? A New Study Raises Questions

When we talk about progress in breast cancer, we often point to the encouraging news that deaths from invasive breast cancer have steadily declined over recent decades—thanks to advances in detection, treatment and care.

But for DCIS, there is weak or even no evidence that our current treatments actually reduce the chance of dying from breast cancer.  A new study published in Breast Cancer Research looked closely at this question, and the results raise important concerns.

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A New Clue to Why Some DCIS Becomes Invasive Cancer

One of the biggest questions for people diagnosed with DCIS is: which cases will stay harmless inside the milk ducts, and which ones will progress to invasive breast cancer?

A new study from researchers in Finland and Sweden offers an important piece of this puzzle. They discovered that a protein called HSF2 may act like a “switch” that helps determine whether cells stay put in the ducts or begin invading surrounding breast tissue.

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Is It Safe to Wait? What a New Study Says About Delaying Surgery for DCIS

When you’re told you have ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the instinct is often to treat it quickly and aggressively. But what if some DCIS doesn’t need immediate surgery at all? A new study published in The BMJ (British Medical Journal) suggests that for some women, waiting and watching may be a safe option.  In this observational cohort study, researchers followed 1,780 women across the U.S. who were diagnosed with DCIS but chose not to have surgery within the first six months of diagnosis. The goal was to understand how many later developed invasive breast cancer and how many died from breast…

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Endocrine Therapy for 2+ Years May Be as Effective as Radiation for Some DCIS Patients

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is often found through screening before it has a chance to spread. While this sounds reassuring, it leads to a tough question: how much treatment is enough? Most DCIS patients undergo surgery, often followed by radiation and/or hormone (endocrine) therapy. But not all DCIS is aggressive, and over-treating low-risk cases can cause unnecessary side effects.  This new study, published in NPJ Breast Cancer, takes a fresh look at how long endocrine therapy needs to be taken—and whether it might offer similar protection as radiation. Researchers analyzed 1,916 patients from two large California cancer centers, with a…

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Could a Menopause Drug Help Prevent Invasive Breast Cancer? A New Study Offers Hope for DCIS Patients

A recent Phase 2 clinical trial led by Northwestern Medicine suggests that Duavee, a medication already FDA-approved to treat menopause symptoms, might also help prevent invasive breast cancer in some women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The study, led by Dr. Swati Kulkarni, a breast surgeon and professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was presented on June 1 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. What Was the Study About? The trial included 141 postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) DCIS, a type of early-stage breast condition that may sometimes lead to invasive cancer. Participants were randomly assigned…

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