Summary

Abstract

Over the past 10 years carcinoma in situ has become a topic of intense interest. There are both scientific and practical reasons for this. From the standpoint of research, it is now believed that invasive breast carcinomas are preceded by an in situ phase. The study of non-invasive breast cancer may thus provide the key to understanding the multi-step genetic alterations leading to the development of invasive disease. From a clinical point of view, the interest is stimulated by the marked increase in the incidence of in situ breast cancer, particularly of the intraductal type (DCIS), essentially due to the increasing use of mammographic screening. Furthermore, the predominant role played by breast-conserving approaches makes it imperative to better define the optimal management of various types of in situ breast cancer with differing potentials for progression to invasive and possibly metastatic disease.