Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - Symptoms and causes

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in the breast. DCIS is considered the earliest form of breast cancer. COVID-19:Advice,updatesandvaccineoptions FindoutaboutCOVID-19,COVID-19vaccines,andMayoClinicpatientandvisitorupdates. Skiptositenavigation SkiptoContent ThiscontentdoesnothaveanEnglishversion.ThiscontentdoesnothaveanArabicversion. SectionsforDuctalcarcinomainsitu(DCIS)Symptoms&causesDiagnosis&treatmentDoctors&departments Print Overview Breastanatomy Openpop-updialogbox Close Breastanatomy Breastanatomy Eachbreastcontains15to20lobesofglandulartissue,arrangedlikethepetalsofadaisy.Thelobesarefurtherdividedintosmallerlobulesthatproducemilkforbreastfeeding.Smalltubes(ducts)conductthemilktoareservoirthatliesjustbeneathyournipple. Ductalcarcinomainsitu(DCIS)isthepresenceofabnormalcellsinsideamilkductinthebreast. DCISisconsideredtheearliestformofbreastcancer.DCISisnoninvasive,meaningithasn'tspreadoutofthemilkductandhasalowriskofbecominginvasive. DCISisusuallyfoundduringamammogramdoneaspartofbreastcancerscreeningortoinvestigateabreastlump. WhileDCISisn'tanemergency,itdoesrequireanevaluationandaconsiderationoftreatmentoptions.Treatmentmayincludebreast-conservingsurgerycombinedwithradiationorsurgerytoremoveallofthebreasttissue.Aclinicaltrialstudyingactivemonitoringasanalternativetosurgerymaybeanotheroption.Products&ServicesBook:MayoClinicFamilyHealthBook,5thEditionMayoClinicCancerCenterNewsletter:MayoClinicHealthLetter—DigitalEditionShowmoreproductsfromMayoClinic SymptomsDCISdoesn'ttypicallyhaveanysignsorsymptoms.However,DCIScansometimescausesignssuchas: Abreastlump Bloodynippledischarge DCISisusuallyfoundonamammogramandappearsassmallclustersofcalcificationsthathaveirregularshapesandsizes. WhentoseeadoctorMakeanappointmentwithyourdoctorifyounoticeachangeinyourbreasts,suchasalump,anareaofpuckeredorotherwiseunusualskin,athickenedregionundertheskin,ornippledischarge. Askyourdoctorwhenyoushouldconsiderbreastcancerscreeningandhowoftenitshouldberepeated.Mostgroupsrecommendconsideringroutinebreastcancerscreeningbeginninginyour40s.Talkwithyourdoctoraboutwhat'srightforyou.   Thereisaproblemwith informationsubmittedforthisrequest.Review/updatethe informationhighlightedbelowandresubmittheform. GetthelatestbreastcancerinformationfromMayoClinicdeliveredinyourinbox. Signupforfreeandreceivethelatestonbreastcancertreatment,careandmanagement. Iwouldliketolearnmoreabout Thelatestonnewlydiagnosedbreastcancer Up-to-dateinformationonrecurrentbreastcancer Specializedtreatmentinformationforhighriskbreastcancer ErrorSelect atopic Emailaddress ErrorEmailfieldisrequired ErrorIncludeavalidemailaddress Subscribe LearnmoreaboutMayoClinic’suseofdata. 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Sorrysomethingwentwrongwithyoursubscription Please,tryagaininacoupleofminutes Retry RequestanAppointmentatMayoClinic CausesIt'snotclearwhatcausesDCIS.DCISformswhengeneticmutationsoccurintheDNAofbreastductcells.Thegeneticmutationscausethecellstoappearabnormal,butthecellsdon'tyethavetheabilitytobreakoutofthebreastduct. Researchersdon'tknowexactlywhattriggerstheabnormalcellgrowththatleadstoDCIS.Factorsthatmayplayapartincludeyourlifestyle,yourenvironmentandgenespassedtoyoufromyourparents. RiskfactorsFactorsthatmayincreaseyourriskofDCISinclude: Increasingage Personalhistoryofbenignbreastdisease,suchasatypicalhyperplasia Familyhistoryofbreastcancer Neverhavingbeenpregnant Havingyourfirstbabyafterage30 Havingyourfirstperiodbeforeage12 Beginningmenopauseafterage55 Geneticmutationsthatincreasetheriskofbreastcancer,suchasthoseinthebreastcancergenesBRCA1andBRCA2 ByMayoClinicStaff RequestanAppointmentatMayoClinic Diagnosis&treatment May18,2022 Print Shareon:FacebookTwitter Showreferences NiederhuberJE,etal.,eds.Cancerofthebreast.In:Abeloff'sClinicalOncology.5thed.Philadelphia,Pa.:ChurchillLivingstoneElsevier;2014.https://www.clinicalkey.com.AccessedApril27,2018. TownsendCMJr,etal.Diseasesofthebreast.In:SabistonTextbookofSurgery:TheBiologicalBasisofModernSurgicalPractice.20thed.Philadelphia,Pa.:Elsevier;2017.https://www.clinicalkey.com.AccessedApril27,2018. Breastcancer.FortWashington,Pa.:NationalComprehensiveCancerNetwork.http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp.AccessedApril27,2018. AskMayoExpert.Ductalcarcinomainsitu(DCIS):Diagnosistofirsttreatment(adult).Rochester,Minn.:MayoFoundationforMedicalEducationandResearch;2017. CollinsLC,etal.Breastductalcarcinomainsitu:Epidemiology,clinicalmanifestations,anddiagnosis.https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search.AccessedMay9,2018. Distressmanagement.FortWashington,Pa.:NationalComprehensiveCancerNetwork.http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp.AccessedApril27,2018. WhatistheCOMETstudy?DCISoptions.org.https://dcisoptions.org/comet.AccessedMay23,2018. 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