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Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

  • Living reference work entry
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Encyclopedia of Cancer

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Synonyms

DCIS; In situ breast cancer; Intraductal carcinoma; Noninvasive breast cancer; Preinvasive breast cancer

Definition

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a preinvasive breast cancer. The malignant cells remain confined behind an intact basement membrane. The tumor can spread locally along the breast ducts (up to 20 or so) that form the breast, but DCIS does not possess the ability to invade into surrounding structures or spread to distant sites. If left, over time, a proportion of cases will develop into an invasive breast cancer, which does have the ability to spread and metastasize.

Characteristics

Diagnosis

Over 90 % of DCIS that is diagnosed cannot be felt on breast examination and is completely asymptomatic; it is often only detected at screening mammograms. Approximately 70 % of these mammographically detected cases present as microcalcifications. Atypical mammographic features include circumscribed nodules, ill-defined masses, duct asymmetry, and architectural distortion....

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References

  • Ernster VL, Barclay J (1997) Increases in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast in relation to mammography: a dilemma. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 22:151–156

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  • Schwartz GF, Solin LJ, Olivotto IA et al (2000) The consensus conference on the treatment of in situ ductal carcinoma of the breast, 22–25 April 1999. Cancer 88(4):946–954

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  • Silverstein M (2002) Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast, 2nd edn. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia. ISBN 0-781732-23-9

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  • The Steering Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Care and Treatment of Breast Cancer. The management of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) (1998) Can Med Assoc J 158(Suppl):S27–S34

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Academic Surgery, South Manchester University Hospital, Manchester, UK

    Nicola L. P. Barnes & Nigel J. Bundred

Authors
  1. Nicola L. P. Barnes
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  2. Nigel J. Bundred
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicola L. P. Barnes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Barnes, N.L.P., Bundred, N.J. (2014). Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_1748-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_1748-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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