Category: Definition & Diagnosis
Drug Index (Professional) - Anastrozole
Anastrozole is a reversible (Type II), nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase catalyzes the final and rate-limiting step in the conversion of androgens to estrogens in peripheral tissues.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
Ductal carcinoma in Situ (DCIS) Summary Information
DCIS stands for ductal carcinoma in situ. This means that in a part of your breast the cells lining the milk ducts (the channels in the breast that carry milk to the nipple) are cancerous, but stay contained within the ducts without growing through into the surrounding breast tissue. DCIS may affect just one area of the breast but can be more widespread and affect different areas at the same time. Sometimes DCIS may be described as pre-cancerous, pre-invasive, non-invasive or intraductal cancer.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
New Test to Help Women with Early Stage Breast Cancer Make Treatment Choices
Researchers from the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and Genomic Health reported that a new genetic test can help predict the likelihood that a breast cancer will recur, and, in turn, whether chemotherapy is necessary.

Oncologists currently use a woman's age, tumor size, tumor grade, and estrogen receptor status to assess her risk for distant recurrence (metastasis). But it is still a "best guess" scenario - we don't have a perfect way of determining who will benefit from chemo and who doesn't really need it.

Genomic Health developed the new genetic test by analyzing tumor samples from nearly 700 women who had been involved in a 1980s NSABP study. The analysis identified 21 genes that appeared to be related to a breast cancer recurrence.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
The National Coalition For Cancer Survivorship

Breast cancer is a common malignancy, with almost 200,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year. The disease occurs most frequently in women and rarely, in men. The breasts are glands that produce and release milk in women in association with pregnancy. Breast cancer develops from cells in the breast.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
DCIS - Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

Classification of DCIS by the Predominant Architecture
Classification of DCIS by Nuclear Features
SUMMARY OF NUCLEAR GRADE
Van Nuys Prognostic Classification

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
Breast Reconstruction

Breast reconstruction (surgery to rebuild a breast's shape) is often an option after mastectomy. Some health insurance plans pay for all or part of the cost of breast reconstruction and, also, for surgery to the other breast so that both breasts are about the same shape and size.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
DCIS: Treating a Pre-cancer

As more American women are screened for breast cancer with mammograms, doctors are seeing more of a condition called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Sometimes called a pre-cancer and sometimes Stage 0 breast cancer, DCIS is a non-invasive lesion that is confined within the lining of the milk ducts of the breast that is more benign than a cancerous tumor in that it does not have the ability to invade other parts of the body.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
A.P.John institute for cancer research

The following stages are used for breast cancer:
Stage 0 (carcinoma in situ)
There are 2 types of breast carcinoma in situ:

* Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a noninvasive, precancerous condition in which abnormal cells are found in the lining of a breast duct. The abnormal cells have not spread outside the duct to other tissues in the breast. In some cases, DCIS may become invasive cancer and spread to other tissues, although it is not known at this time how to predict which lesions will become invasive.

* Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is a condition in which abnormal cells are found in the lobules of the breast. This condition seldom becomes invasive cancer; however, having lobular carcinoma in situ in one breast increases the risk of developing breast cancer in either breast.

Stage I to Stage IV

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
Carcinoma in Situ
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the earliest possible clinical diagnosis of breast cancer and is frequently diagnosed with screening mammography that has detected small areas of calcification in the breast. Patients rarely suspect that they have breast cancer with this stage cancer. It is estimated that the average time to develop invasive breast cancer from DCIS is 5-8 years.

A variety of factors ultimately influence a patient's decision to receive treatment of cancer. The purpose of receiving cancer treatment may be to improve symptoms through local control of the cancer, increase a patient's chance of cure, or prolong a patient's survival. The potential benefits of receiving cancer treatment must be carefully balanced with the potential risks of receiving cancer treatment.

The following is a general overview of the treatment of DCIS. Circumstances unique to your situation and prognostic factors of your cancer may ultimately influence how these general treatment principles are applied. The information on this Web site is intended to help educate you about your treatment options and to facilitate a mutual or shared decision-making process with your treating cancer physician.

Most new treatments are developed in clinical trials. Clinical trials are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs or treatment strategies. The development of more effective cancer treatments requires that new and innovative therapies be evaluated with cancer patients. Participation in a clinical trial may offer access to better treatments and advance the existing knowledge about treatment of this cancer. Clinical trials are available for most stages of cancer. Patients who are interested in participating in a clinical trial should discuss the risks and benefits of clinical trials with their physician. To ensure that you are receiving the optimal treatment of your cancer, it is important to stay informed and follow the cancer news in order to learn about new treatments and the results of clinical trials.

DCIS can be thought of as a pre-cancerous or early stage growth of abnormal cells in the ducts of the breast. Historically, DCIS was an extremely uncommon finding in women and little attention was given to defining its optimal treatment. This is because DCIS can be cured almost 100% of the time with a surgical mastectomy. With the increased use of screening mammography, women are more likely to have cancer diagnosed at an earlier stage, and therefore, the number of women diagnosed with DCIS is increasing. If DCIS is untreated, approximately 30% of patients will develop invasive breast cancer an average of 10 years from the initial diagnosis.

Category: Definition & Diagnosis
Ductal Carcinoma in Situ of the Breast

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast is an early, localized cluster of cancer cells that start in the milk passage ducts of the breast but have not penetrated the duct walls into the surrounding tissue. The term "in situ" refers to a tumor that has not spread beyond the place where it originally developed.