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Open Access 01-01-2022 | Mammography | Review

Low-risk DCIS. What is it? Observe or excise?

Authors: Sarah E. Pinder, Alastair M. Thompson, Jelle Wesserling

Published in: Virchows Archiv | Issue 1/2022

Abstract

The issue of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of lesions detected by breast screening mammography has been debated in both international media and the scientific literature. A proportion of cancers detected by breast screening would never have presented symptomatically or caused harm during the patient’s lifetime. The most likely (but not the only) entity which may represent those overdiagnosed and overtreated is low-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In this article, we address what is understood regarding the natural history of DCIS and the diagnosis and prognosis of low-grade DCIS. However, low cytonuclear grade disease may not be the totality of DCIS that can be considered of low clinical risk and we outline the issues regarding active surveillance vs excision of low-risk DCIS and the clinical trials exploring this approach.

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Title: Low-risk DCIS. What is it? Observe or excise?
Authors: Sarah E. Pinder
Alastair M. Thompson
Jelle Wesserling
Publication date: 01-01-2022
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keywords: Mammography
Mammography
Published in: Virchows Archiv / Issue 1/2022
Print ISSN: 0945-6317
Electronic ISSN: 1432-2307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-021-03173-8

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