Ductal carcinoma in situ screening
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Researchers should improve breast magnetic resonance imaging techniques to enable discrimination between non-invasive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) that requires intervention, and that which can be managed more conservatively, according to a Sept. 24 National Institutes of Health "State-of-the-Science" conference statement on DCIS diagnosis and management. DCIS, a spectrum of abnormal cells confined to the breast duct, is a risk factor for invasive breast cancer. Breast MRI is more sensitive than mammography and has been used to screen for DCIS, but technological advances may be required to prevent over-detection of insignificant lesions and to better risk-stratify patients who need more aggressive treatment, the conference panel concluded at the Sept. 22-24 meeting in Bethesda, Md