If you haven’t seen this recent article from the New York Times it’s worth a read.

I have posted before about the importance of getting your breast biopsy diagnosed from a pathologist who specializes in breast pathology.  This article points out how subtle the distinction can be between atypical ductal hyperplasia and low grade ductal carcinoma in situ. The current treatment differences between these two diagnoses are significant — atypical ductal hyperplasia does not require additional surgery for clear margins whereas ductal carcinoma in situ requires clear surgical margins.  In addition, most doctors recommend radiation therapy following surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ but not for atypical ductal hyperplasia.

There has been some discussion over the years about removing the term “carcinoma” from some of these low grade intraductal lesions (click here for article on NIH Consensus Conference on DCIS) because the concern is many women may be “over-treated.” While this has not been uniformly accepted in the breast care community, hopefully further discussion and research will help clarify this issue.

In the meantime, if you have a breast biopsy it is your right to get a copy of your pathology report where you can find the name of the pathologist who made your diagnosis.  A quick internet search should allow you to find out if he/she specializes in breast pathology. If not, consider getting a second opinion from a breast pathologist.

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