Deescalating DCIS Experts Discuss New Data From SABCS

Hi, I'm Dr Kathy Miller, coming to you from the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Welcome to this edition of Medscape News and Views. I'm joined by Dr Shelley Hwang. Shelley is the director of the Breast Center at Duke University. Thank you for coming in, Shelley. I know you've had a long interest in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and prevention of breast cancer, and we've seen some new data about those topics at this meeting. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/...

[@Scole23786]

After 2 lumpectomies earlier in his year, and finally a bilateral mastectomy 3 weeks ago, I wish I knew about this clinical study. The final pathology report showed no invasive cancer. I wasn’t given many options. There needs to more research into DCIS and this should not be treated the same as a tumor.

[@ourscarsspeak]

Thank you for explaining and I would love to have either of you on my podcast. However, why wasn't grade 3 patients in the COMET study considering DCIS is considered to be a precancer? I understand it is a higher risk for grade 3 but if DCIS is very low risk for invasion why weren't they involved?

[@ourscarsspeak]

Also, what if a patient has an actual tumor and symptoms with the DCIS such as inverted nipples, pulsating vein, enlarged breast, lumps, and discharge? Would this case be more prone to invasive cancer or is this common for grade 3 DCIS? This is hard to explain but hopefully you understand what I am trying to convey.