Learn about conventional, complementary, and integrative therapies.
Dealing with treatment side effects? Learn about evidence-based therapies to alleviate your symptoms.
Click the orange button to the right to learn more.
Why would you want to avoid DCIS radiation? If you’ve been diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ (DCIS) you probably want to do everything possible to prevent a diagnosis of full breast cancer.
For the record, DCIS is NOT cancer. It is a form of pre-cancer. Examples of pre-cancers are:
All forms of pre-cancer may increase the risk of getting that cancer but it is not a diagnosis of cancer.
The study linked and excerpted below explains that if DCIS patients are tested by Oncotype DX and they are found to be “low risk” aka a score of 36 or less, they have low enough risk of a breast cancer risk that local radiation will not benefit them. Or I should say that the risks of radiation outweigh the possible benefits.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive cancer where abnormal cells are found in the lining of a breast duct but have not spread outside the duct. Local radiation therapy is a common treatment option for DCIS, and it is typically used after surgery (such as lumpectomy) to reduce the risk of recurrence. While radiation therapy is generally well-tolerated, it can have some side effects. It’s important to note that the severity of side effects can vary from person to person. Possible side effects of local radiation for DCIS patients may include:
Last but not least, there are a number of evidence-based but non-conventional therapies shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
I am a long-term survivor of a blood cancer. I can tell you that without a doubt, undergoing evidence-based, non-conventional therapies in order to avoid toxicity and avoid a diagnosis of full cancer is worth your while.
Have you been diagnosed with DCIS? Let me know if you have any questions. David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com
Thanks,
David Emerson
“There’s a long-standing concern among oncologists that many women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a potential precursor to invasive breast cancer, receive more treatment than they need. The potential for overtreatment largely revolves around the extent of surgery and the use of radiation.
Using the Oncotype DX Breast DCIS Score test, a laboratory test that estimates DCIS recurrence risk, may help identify patients with low-risk DCIS who can safely avoid adjuvant radiation after surgery…
Researchers found that the Oncotype DX score helped identify patients who are at low and high risk for DCIS recurrence. Low-risk patients who skipped adjuvant radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery demonstrated similar 5-year recurrence rates compared with high-risk patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy…
To reduce the risk for DCIS recurrence or progression to invasive breast cancer, most patients with DCIS undergo breast-conserving surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy, Khan explained. Instead of breast-conserving surgery, about 1 in 4 patients opt for mastectomy…
Women who scored < 39 points on the 100-point Oncotype DX scale were considered to be at low risk for recurrence and were advised to skip radiation. Women who scored > 39 were advised to undergo radiation. Overall, 93% of the patients followed the radiation recommendations: 75 of 82 patients (91.4%) deemed as low risk skipped adjuvant radiotherapy and 84 of 89 patients (94.4%) deemed as high risk had radiotherapy.
At a median follow-up of 5 years, 5.1% (four of 82) of low-risk patients experienced a recurrence vs 4.5% (four of 89) of higher-risk patients.
Recurrence rates among patients who followed the radiation recommendations mirrored these overall findings: 5.5% of 75 patients with low-risk DCIS who skipped radiotherapy experienced disease recurrence vs 4.8% of 84 patients with high-risk DCIS who received radiotherapy…
In short, “women who skipped radiation based on this score did not experience an excess risk of” ipsilateral recurrence over 5 years, said Khan.
Overall, the study offers “strong evidence” that the DCIS score might help “prevent excessive treatment for some patients,” she concluded, adding that 10-year outcomes will be reported…”