A clinical trial has provided early results that suggest most women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a precancerous breast condition, do not benefit from surgery. The study found that women who underwent active monitoring with frequent mammograms were no more likely to progress to breast cancer over the next two years than those who had surgery to remove the abnormal cells.
The trial involved 957 women with DCIS, all of whom received hormone-blocking therapy. The results show that the rate of invasive cancer in the surgery group was 5.9%, compared to 4.2% in the active monitoring group. While the difference was not statistically significant, study leader Dr. E. Shelley Hwang said that if these results hold up over time, most patients with this type of low-risk disease will have the option of avoiding invasive treatments.
The findings are promising for women with DCIS, who account for more than 50,000 cases in the US each year. The majority are treated with surgery, including mastectomies. The study’s results could lead to a significant change in how these patients are cared for and diagnosed.
Separately, a trial of Ibrance, a drug that targets a specific type of breast cancer, found that it helped keep metastatic breast cancer under control for significantly longer than usual. The median time to disease progression was 44.3 months with Ibrance, compared to 29.1 months with standard treatment.
The number of women diagnosed with late-stage, invasive breast cancer at the time of diagnosis has increased significantly in recent years. According to a report, diagnoses of new breast cancer cases with existing metastasis increased by an average of 1.16% per year between 2004 and 2021.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/health-rounds-surgery-may-be-unnecessary-common-precancerous-breast-condition-2024-12-20