Overtreating DCIS

Clinical Pearls

Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS, professor of surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the overtreatment of DCIS.

• 60,000-65,000 women are diagnosed with DCIS each year, though it is believed that many are overtreated
• It is difficult to determine which patients will progress to invasive breast cancer
• In order to get a better understanding of the disease process, researchers are testing the use of promising agents before surgery