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Is ductal carcinoma in situ cancer life threatening?
DCIS refers to abnormal cells that are confined to the milk ducts. These cells have not yet spread into the surrounding normal breast tissue and cannot spread elsewhere in the body. It’s more of a precancer, or preinvasive lesion. So DCIS isn’t life-threatening, but it has the potential to become invasive cancer.
Can you die from ductal carcinoma in situ?
DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) is the most common form of non-invasive breast cancer and is considered stage 0 cancer. While DCIS isn’t considered life threatening, it does increase the risk of developing invasive breast cancer later in life.
Is DCIS life threatening?
While DCIS isn’t considered life threatening, it does increase the risk of developing invasive breast cancer later in life. DCIS usually is found when a biopsy is done on a suspicious area found by a mammogram.
Does ductal carcinoma in situ spread?
DCIS can’t spread outside the breast, but it still needs to be treated because it can sometimes go on to become invasive breast cancer (which can spread). In most cases, a woman with DCIS can choose between breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and simple mastectomy.
What is the survival rate for ductal carcinoma in situ?
Generally, patients diagnosed with DCIS have an excellent long-term breast-cancer-specific survival of around 98% after 10 years of follow-up24–27 and a normal life expectancy.
Does ductal carcinoma in situ require chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy, a form of treatment that sends anti-cancer medications throughout the body, is generally not needed for DCIS. DCIS is non-invasive and remains within the breast duct, so there is no need to treat cancer cells that might have traveled to other areas of the body.
What is the survival rate for invasive ductal carcinoma?
What Is Invasive Ductal Carcinoma? Invasive ductal carcinoma describes the type of tumor in about 80 percent of people with breast cancer. The five-year survival rate is quite high — almost 100 percent when the tumor is caught and treated early.
Does ductal carcinoma in situ run in families?
Scientists funded by Breast Cancer Now have confirmed inherited genetic links between non-invasive cancerous changes found in the milk ducts – known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) – and the development of invasive breast cancer, meaning that a family history of DCIS could be as important to assessing a woman’s risk …
Why did I get DCIS?
DCIS forms when genetic mutations occur in the DNA of breast duct cells. The genetic mutations cause the cells to appear abnormal, but the cells don’t yet have the ability to break out of the breast duct. Researchers don’t know exactly what triggers the abnormal cell growth that leads to DCIS.
Is DCIS 100 curable?
But DCIS is nearly 100 percent curable. Typically, the treatment is a small operation called lumpectomy, often but not always followed by radiation to the area.