News & Updates
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March 15, 2025
Why is DCIS Often Overtreated and What Can We Do About It?
There is growing concern about the overtreatment of DCIS. Overtreatment is the treating of a disease or condition even though it may not have led to symptoms in a patient’s lifetime or earlier mortality. DCIS is sometimes referred to as a “non-obligate precursor” of breast cancer. Non-obligate precursor means that it can, but often does not, lead to invasive breast cancer. Some studies estimate that as much as 50-80% of DCIS, if left untreated, would remain harmless in a patient’s lifetime. Yet even though most cases of DCIS might be able to avoid treatment, because doctors cannot reliably predict which cases those are, virtually all…
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February 28, 2025
What is Active Monitoring?
Active monitoring, also called active surveillance, is a strategy for managing low-risk DCIS in which a patient has regular imaging (including mammograms, MRIs or ultrasounds) and check-ups with her doctor. It is a strategy that avoids or delays surgery and radiation absent signs of worsening of the DCIS or invasive progression. If concerning changes occur, surgery and other treatments may be warranted. Imaging types and frequency vary, but most common is diagnostic magnification mammograms every 6-months, moving possibly to yearly mammograms for patients with stable imaging results. For some patients, active monitoring can be combined with hormone therapy to further reduce the risk of…
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January 23, 2025
Should DCIS be Called Cancer?
Should DCIS be called cancer? It’s the million-dollar question. The answer, in short, depends on who you ask, and how they define “cancer.” The official diagnosis name is Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, and DCIS is generally referred to as “stage 0 breast cancer.” But a growing number of physicians refer to DCIS as a “pre-cancer” or a “risk factor” for cancer, and there has been discussion over the last few decades about removing the words “carcinoma” and “cancer” from the nomenclature altogether. What’s in a Name? The language physicians use when communicating with patients matters, and the words “carcinoma” and…
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December 28, 2024
Expanding Treatment Options for Low-Risk DCIS: First COMET Results are Released
The first results of the U.S-based Comparing an Operation to Monitoring, with or without Endocrine Therapy (COMET) trial, a phase III randomized clinical trial comparing different management strategies for low-risk DCIS, were released earlier this month. The findings were published in JAMA and JAMA Oncology and were presented at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The key takeaway from the study is that women with low-risk DCIS who underwent active monitoring instead of surgery were no more likely to develop invasive breast cancer in the affected breast after two years. The findings represent a first step toward a safe…