I wrote an article a while back called “What Your Core Needle Biopsy Diagnosis Means” to help patients understand why sometimes even a “benign” diagnosis may require a surgical excision. While writing that article, I spoke to many of my colleagues in breast pathology and breast imaging and found out that there is a marked [...]
Question: Hi I Had a sterotatic biopsy that revealed On the pathology report that I picked up said A. Columnar cell lesion with focal microcalcifications B. Lobular carcinoma in situ. I am so confused My doctor said I have DCIS but its lobular. Treatment plan is lumpectomy and lymph node aspiration and then 5 years of [...]
There is controversy in the breast health care community about using the term “carcinoma” for a non-invasive tumor (DCIS or LCIS). I want to share with you the abstract from the NIH State-of-the-Science Conference Statement on Ductal Carcinoma in Situ which was just published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. There is a [...]
I’ve written before about the controversy over lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and whether it is just a marker of increased risk or possibly a precursor to invasive carcinoma, like ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The reason it was felt to be just a marker of increased risk was that most early studies showed that [...]
I have received quite a lot of questions about lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and I am glad that patients are finally drawing more attention to this disease. Since I started my career in breast pathology this has been one of the most interesting areas of breast cancer research for me. Finally, more attention is [...]
Question: I am 52 years old, no family history of breast cancer, and I have started getting yearly mammograms. My doctor found some new calcified areas in my breast and biopsied them. The report said I had “ductal carcinoma in situ, low nuclear grade, solid type without necrosis.” The calcium was apparently [...]
I have uploaded Part I of a Tutorial on Breast Pathology which I hope will be informative for anyone interested in learning some of the “basics” of breast cancer diagnosis. The file is in “pdf” format. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post a comment online or contact me via email. [...]
Two articles have been published in the past half year that question whether the finding of lobular neoplasia (ALH/LCIS) on core needle biopsy automatically requires surgical excision.
The articles, published in the journals Cancer and Modern Pathology, suggest that in cases where there is no discrepancy between the radiology findings and the pathology findings, patients can [...]
Question: I had a core biopsy in July which showed LCIS and had my surgery in late August which also showed only LCIS. My doctor said I don’t need any more surgery, but my pathology report said “margins are 1-2 mm in several foci.” Should I be concerned everything wasn’t taken out? Are these good [...]
In the breast, there are two types of carcinoma in situ: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). In situ implies that the carcinoma cells have not yet escaped the confines of the ducts and lobules of the breast. (Once carcinoma cells leave the ducts and lobules and invade the [...]
