Ductal carcinoma in situ of breast needs to be stratified further according to risk of progressing

The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast has risen nearly 20-fold in 30 years and is especially pronounced in women aged over 50, a review of the literature has found.

Although the widespread use of mammography explains some of the increase, it does not account for all of it, say the authors (Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2010;102:170-8, doi:10.1093/jnci/djp482).

They have called for the relation between mammography and the incidence of the cancer to be investigated further. More research is also needed to improve the assessment of non-invasive ductal carcinoma in situ in the breast so that imaging and treatment can be modified to focus on high risk lesions that are likely to progress, they say.

Ductal carcinoma in situ encompasses a wide spectrum of disease ranging from low grade lesions that are not life threatening to high grade lesions that may harbour foci of invasive breast cancer. It was rarely diagnosed before 1980, but …