The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a noninvasive form of breast cancer, has increased markedly in recent decades, and DCIS now accounts for approximately 20% of breast cancers diagnosed by mammography. Laboratory and patient data suggest that DCIS is a precursor lesion for invasive cancer. Controversy exists with regard to the optimal management of DCIS patients. In the past, mas...

Fibroadenoma is the most common breast tumor in women. Malignant transformation occurs rarely within fibroadenoma at older ages. Clinicians, radiologists, and pathologists need to be aware of malignant transformation within fibroadenomas. Radiologic studies play an important role in the diagnosis of fibroadenoma; however, radiologic findings are often nonspecific for malignancy and may appear c...

A case is described in which calcium oxalate (Weddellite) crystals were identified in an area of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. Seventy other cases were examined but no evidence of Weddellite was detected. This is evidently a rare phenomenon in carcinoma in situ.

JNCI | Editorials 569 Some medical decisions are fairly straightforward. If you break a leg, the recommended treatment is a cast, elevation, and crutches. But if your breast biopsy leads to a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the treatment path is much less clear. A diagnosis of DCIS brings uncertainty. With the introduction of population-wide screening mammography, radiologists hav...

Lobular carcinoma in situ was first described over 60 years ago. Despite the long history, it continues to pose significant difficulties in screening, diagnosis, management and treatment. This is partly due its multi-focal and bilateral presentation, an incomplete understanding of its biology and natural history and perpetuation of misconceptions gathered over the last decades. In this review, ...

Neuroendocrine tumors of the breast are very rare accounting for less than 0.1% of all breast cancers and less than 1% of all neuroendocrine tumors. Focal neuroendocrine differentiation can be found in different histologic types of breast carcinoma including in situ and invasive ductal or invasive lobular. However, primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast requires the expression of neuroe...

PURPOSE The increasing incidence and biological heterogeneity of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast have made the management of this entity challenging and controversial. This paper reviews data on the natural history of the disease and results obtained with various management approaches. DATA SOURCES Computerized MEDLINE search of articles related to DCIS published since 1966. S...

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) describes a wide spectrum of non-invasive tumors which carry a significant risk of invasive relapse, thus prevention of local recurrence is vital. For appropriate patients with limited disease, management with breast conserving surgery (BCS) followed by whole-breast radiation (RT) is supported by multiple Phase III studies, but mastectomy may be appropriate in se...