Stage 0 breast cancer, also known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), is a non-invasive form of cancer that is usually detected through routine screening with a mammogram. It is important to note that this type of cancer usually has no symptoms, and approximately 80% of cases are found through mammograms. However, if symptoms are present, they may include a lump in the breast or abnormal discharge from the nipple. In some cases, a doctor may discover stage 0 breast cancer by accident, such as after a biopsy or while performing an imaging test on a different tumor.
Doctors can also diagnose some people after feeling a lump or after a routine exam. The debate is whether all cases of DCIS should be treated immediately with surgery and additional therapy or whether, instead, patients should be monitored and treated only if the cancer spreads. In recent years, the treatment of this non-invasive form of breast cancer has been a source of some controversy. Many women experience mild acute side effects, such as skin irritation, pain, breast swelling, and fatigue, which usually go away several weeks after treatment is completed.
However, today, DCIS accounts for 20% of breast cancer diagnoses and would be the fifth most common cancer in women if classified independently. The researchers estimated that the specific negative outlook for breast cancer at 10 years was 1.1 percent and the negative outlook at 20 years was 3.3 percent.Radiation therapy treatments usually follow breast-conserving surgery to kill remaining cancer cells, although this is usually not necessary after a mastectomy. Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive condition that is less common than other types of breast cancer. Whether a doctor recommends treatment for stage 0 breast cancer depends on many factors, such as age at the time of diagnosis, family history, genetic mutations, the subtype of cancer, and the likelihood that the cancer will become invasive or come back.In stage 1A, the tumor is 2 cm or smaller (about the size of a pea) and has not spread outside the breast.
For example, stage 1B breast cancer will have spread even more or will be larger than stage 1A breast cancer. Surgical options for stage 0 breast cancer include breast-conserving surgery (also called lumpectomy) to remove the area of the breast with abnormal cells, or a mastectomy to remove the entire breast.For this reason, a diagnosis of LCIS may mean that a woman will need to be screened for
