No more axillary dissection in patients with ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN)

Treatments and Prognosis of the Breast Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

INTRODUCTION

With progress in treatments, breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) outcomes have substantially improved. However, as various treatment methods are used in different countries and institutions, consensus on the optimal treatment method is lacking. This study aimed to analyze the prognostic factors and provide a reference for optimizing the clinical treatment of DCIS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective clinical study collected data from DCIS patients at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 2010 to 2017. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model were used to assess disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and local control (LC) rates.

RESULTS

Among the 483 included patients, 83.6% (404) underwent mastectomies. The median follow-up time was 101 months. The number of patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with radiotherapy has gradually increased. Axillary lymph node dissection was the main surgery performed from 2010 to 2015, and the proportion of sentinel lymph node biopsies (SLNBs) has increased. LC and DFS rates with BCS without radiotherapy were significantly lower than those with mastectomy (P = .002; P < .001). Additionally, the patients who did not undergo axillary surgery had worse LC and OS rates than those who underwent SLNB (P = .028 and P = .038). Endocrine therapy (ET) or its duration had no significant effect on prognosis.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, BCS without radiotherapy and lack of axillary surgery were independent prognostic factors. We recommend performing BCS with radiotherapy and SLNB more in clinical practice, as well as shortening the ET duration.

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) and Microinvasive DCIS: Role of Surgery in Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Advances in treatments, screening, and awareness have led to continually decreasing breast cancer-related mortality rates in the past decades. This achievement is coupled with early breast cancer diagnosis. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and microinvasive breast cancer have increasingly been diagnosed in the context of mammographic screening. Clinical management of DCIS is heterogenous, and the clinical significance of microinvasion in DCIS remains elusive, although microinvasive DCIS (DCIS-Mi) is distinct from "pure" DCIS. Upfront surgery has a fundamental role in the overall treatment of these breast diseases. The growing number of screen-detected DCIS diagnoses with clinicopathological features of low risk for local recurrence (LR) allows more conservative surgical options, followed by personalised adjuvant radiotherapy plans. Furthermore, studies are underway to evaluate the validity of surgery omission in selected low-risk categories. Nevertheless, the management, the priority of axillary surgical staging, and the prognosis of DCIS-Mi remain the subject of debate, demonstrating how the paucity of data still necessitates adequate studies to provide conclusive guidelines. The current scientific scenario for DCIS and DCIS-Mi surgical approach consists of highly controversial and diversified sources, which this narrative review will delineate and clarify.

Advances and controversies in management of breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-obligate precursor of invasive breast cancer. It accounts for 25% of all breast cancers diagnosed, as a result of the expansion of breast cancer screening and is associated with a high survival rate. DCIS is particularly clinically challenging, due to its heterogeneous pathological and biological traits and its management is continually evolving towards more personalized and less aggressive therapies. This article suggests evidence-based guidelines for proper DCIS clinical management, which should be discussed within a multidisciplinary team in order to propose the most suitable approach in clinical practice, taking into account recent scientific studies. Here we include updated multidisciplinary treatment protocols and techniques in accordance with the most recent contributions published on this topic in the peer-reviewed medical literature, and we outline future perspectives.

Axillary surgery in breast cancer: An updated historical perspective

This historical surgical retrospection focuses on the temporal de-escalation axillary surgery, focusing on the unceasing efforts of researchers toward new challenges, as documented by extensive studies and trials. Axillary surgery has evolved, aiming to offer the best oncologic treatment and improve the quality of life of women. Axillary lymph-node dissection (ALND) has been replaced by sentinel lymph-node biopsy (SLNB) in women with early clinically node-negative breast cancer, providing adequate axillary nodal staging information with minimal morbidity, and becoming the standard of care in the management of breast cancer. However, this is only the beginning. Strategies in defining systemic and radiotherapeutic treatments have gradually been optimized, offering increasingly refined and targeted breast cancer treatment tools. In recent years, the paradigm of completion ALND after a positive SLNB has been questioned, and several studies have led to revolutionary changes in clinical practice. Moreover, the increasingly pivotal role played by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has had a profound effect on the extent of axillary surgery, paving the way to a more finite "targeted" procedure in women with node-positive breast cancer who convert to negative nodes clinically after NAC. The utility of SLNB itself and its subsequent omission in women with negative nodes clinically and breast conservative surgery is also under scientific evaluation. The changes over time in the surgical approach to breast cancer have been numerous and significant. The novel emerging perspective characterized by recent advances in biology and genetics, in dedicated axillary ultrasound imaging and chemotherapy regimens, is the present reality that points to the future of axillary node treatment in breast cancer.

DCIS and LCIS are confusing and outdated terms. They should be abandoned in favor of ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN) and lobular intraepithelial neoplasia (LIN)

The terms ductal and lobular intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN and LIN) were introduced by Tavossoli 15 years ago, who proposed they should replace, respectively, ductal and lobular carcinoma in situ (DCIS and LCIS). This proposal has been slowly gaining ground. We argue that DCIS and LCIS should now be definitively abandoned. Bringing together 'in situ' and other entities into the simpler and more logical DIN/LIN framework--as has been done with intraepithelial neoplasias of cervix, vagina, vulva, prostate, and pancreas--would eliminate the artificial and illogical distinctions between 'not cancers' (e.g. flat epithelial atypia, atypical ductal hyperplasia--now classified as low grade DIN) and 'cancers' (e.g. DCIS--now considered medium-high grade DIN). Elimination of the term 'carcinoma' from entities that cannot metastasize will reduce confusion among health professionals and patients, and contribute to reducing the risk of overtreatment, as well as reducing adverse psychological reactions in patients.

Ductal carcinoma in situ: how should we treat it?

SUMMARY The observed incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has increased because of the increasing use of sensitive imaging modalities. While the clinical course of DCIS is quite variable, it is considered a precursor lesion to invasive breast cancer. The current focus of DCIS treatment is on the prevention of progression to invasive disease. However, at present, validated diagnostic tests to predict progression accurately are lacking. Additionally, important clinical questions arise during DCIS management. For example, optimal margins of excision or axillary lymph node sampling have not been addressed in randomized clinical trials. May whole-breast radiation after lumpectomy be omitted in selected patients? What is the role of adjuvant tamoxifen if it does not impact overall survival rates? This review aims to describe the natural history of DCIS and highlights the current therapeutic options and challenges in patient management.

Predictors of invasive breast cancer and lymph node involvement in ductal carcinoma in situ initially diagnosed by vacuum-assisted breast biopsy: experience of 733 cases

OBJECTIVE

To predict presence of invasive component and nodal involvement in women diagnosed preoperatively with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) by vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 733 patients with preoperatively diagnosed DCIS, investigating the association of clinical-radiological variables with invasive component and nodal involvement.

RESULTS

Mammographic size >20 mm and residual lesion on post-VABB mammogram were related to invasive component (both p < 0.0001) and nodal involvement (p = 0.001, p = 0.03). Age <40 years was associated with presence of invasive component (p = 0.003). By multivariate analysis residual disease was associated with invasive component, and mammographic tumor size >20 mm with nodal involvement, both highly significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Older age, lesion <20 mm, and no residual lesion predict absence of invasion and no nodal involvement in VABB-diagnosed DCIS. However it would be imprudent to routinely forego sentinel node biopsy in such patients as non-negligible proportions of them have invasive disease.

The management of ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN): open controversies and guidelines of the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO), Milan, Italy

The management of ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN) has substantially changed over the past 30 years, as its incidence has increased (from 2-3% to more than 20%), mainly due to the widespread use of mammography screening. This article describes not only the more widespread theoretical concepts on DIN but also the differences in the practical applications of the theory between different countries, different oncology specialists, and different cancer centers. Papers related to the international multicentre-randomized trials and retrospective studies were analyzed. We include articles and papers published between 1993 and 2010 related to patients with DIN, and abstracts and reports from MEDLINE and other sources were indentified. The standard of care for DIN consists of (a) breast conservative surgery (mastectomy is still indicated in large lesions--masses or microcalcifications--in about 30% of cases); (b) radiotherapy (RT) after conservative surgery, and (c) medical treatment in estrogen receptors-positive patients. However, most studies have shown significant differences between theory and practical application. Moreover, there are differences regarding (a) the indications of sentinel lymph node biopsy, (b) the definition and identification of low-risk DIN subgroups that can avoid RT and tamoxifen, and (c) the research into new alternative drugs in adjuvant medical therapy. A general agreement on the best management of DIN does not exist as yet. New large trials are needed in order to define the best management of DIN patients which is (in most respects) still complex and controversial.