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What Is The Meaning Of Carcinoma

Treatment Of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

What is CARCINOMA IN SITU? CARCINOMA IN SITU meaning – CARCINOMA IN SITU definition

Ductal carcinoma in situ means the cells that line the milk ducts of the breast have become cancer, but they have not spread into surrounding breast tissue.

DCIS is considered non-invasive or pre-invasive breast cancer. DCIS cant spread outside the breast, but it still needs to be treated because it can sometimes go on to become invasive breast cancer .

In most cases, a woman with DCIS can choose between breast-conserving surgery and simple mastectomy. But sometimes a mastectomy might be a better option.

Can The Cancer Stage Change

Once diagnosed, a cancers stage never changes. Even if the patient improves or gets worse, their cancer is the same as when diagnosed.

Once diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, you will always have stage 4 cancer. That doesnt mean that you cannot sustain a long period of disease-free survival.

Part of the reason for this is statisticalstages help scientists track and reevaluate survival statistics and treatment protocols. But they also let doctors track the efficacy of treatments for your stage.

Doctors use cancer stages to compare patients with similar diagnoses, to more easily study the effectiveness of treatments, to track a persons cancer progression, and as a way to estimate survival rates for specific cancers.

Part of the confusion regarding staging status arises from the fact the disease is sometimes re-staged. Re-staging determines if there has been a progression or remission of the disease.

If cancer is re-staged or recurs , doctors keep the initial staging diagnosis and add a new stage to the patients diagnosis. New staging diagnoses get differentiated with letterslike c for clinical, p for pathological , or y for after treatment.

For instance, stage 2 breast cancer that suddenly spreads to the lungs is stage 2 breast cancer with lung metastases rather than stage 4 breast cancer. Similarly, if stage 4 breast cancer meets the definition of remission after treatment, they describe it as stage 4 breast cancer with no evidence of disease.

Carcinoma In Situ Vs Precancerous Cells Vs Dysplasia

There are many terms describing the spectrum of normal cells and invasive cancer cells. One of these is dysplasia. Dysplasia can run the spectrum from mild dysplasia in which the cells are barely abnormal appearing, to carcinoma in situ, which some pathologists describe as severe dysplasia involving the full thickness of the epithelium. The term precancerous cells may also be used to describe cells on this continuum between normal and cancer cells.

These terms are also used in different ways depending on the sample analyzed. For example, cells visualized on a pap smear may show dysplasia , but since the cells are “loose,” nothing can be said about whether carcinoma in situ is present or not. With cervical dysplasia, a biopsy is required before the diagnosis of CIS is made. A biopsy sample provides a view of the cells as they occur in relation to the basement membrane and other cells, and is needed to understand if abnormal cells seen on a pap smear are concerning.

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What Are Some Of The Cancer Type

Breast and prostate cancers are the most common types of cancer that have their own grading systems.

Breast cancer. Doctors most often use the Nottingham grading system for breast cancer . This system grades breast tumors based on the following features:

  • Tubule formation: how much of the tumor tissue has normal breast duct structures
  • Nuclear grade: an evaluation of the size and shape of the nucleus in the tumor cells
  • Mitotic rate: how many dividing cells are present, which is a measure of how fast the tumor cells are growing and dividing

Each of the categories gets a score between 1 and 3 a score of 1 means the cells and tumor tissue look the most like normal cells and tissue, and a score of 3 means the cells and tissue look the most abnormal. The scores for the three categories are then added, yielding a total score of 3 to 9. Three grades are possible:

  • Total score = 35: G1
  • Total score = 67: G2
  • Total score = 89: G3
  • Gleason X: Gleason score cannot be determined
  • Gleason 26: The tumor tissue is well differentiated
  • Gleason 7: The tumor tissue is moderately differentiated
  • Gleason 810: The tumor tissue is poorly differentiated or undifferentiated

How Widespread Is Bcc

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Basal cell carcinoma is quite common, and the number of reported cases in the U.S. has steadily increased.

  • An estimated 3.6 million Americans are diagnosed with BCC each year.
  • More than one out of every three new cancers are skin cancers, and the vast majority are BCCs.
  • The diagnosis and treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers, including BCC and squamous cell carcinoma , increased up to 77 percent between 1994 and 2014.

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What Are The Risk Factors

Since carcinomas cover a broad range of cancer types, the risk factors vary. For example, cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for adenocarcinoma that develops in the lungs, while skin cancer risk factors include long-term exposure to ultraviolet light and having a fair complexion.

Risk factors for sarcoma include exposure to certain chemicals, previous radiation therapy, certain genetic diseases and having swelling in the arms or legs for a long period of time.

Talk to your physician about your specific risk factors.

Reducing The Cancer Burden

Between 30 and 50% of cancers can currently be prevented by avoiding risk factors and implementing existing evidence-based prevention strategies. The cancer burden can also be reduced through early detection of cancer and appropriate treatment and care of patients who develop cancer. Many cancers have a high chance of cure if diagnosed early and treated appropriately.

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How Does Cancer Spread

Cancer can spread from where it started to other parts of the body.

When cancer cells break away from a tumor, they can travel to other areas of the body through either the bloodstream or the lymph system. Cancer cells can travel through the bloodstream to reach distant organs. If they travel through the lymph system, the cancer cells may end up in lymph nodes. Either way, most of the escaped cancer cells die or are killed before they can start growing somewhere else. But one or two might settle in a new area, begin to grow, and form new tumors. This spread of cancer to a new part of the body is called metastasis.

In order for cancer cells to spread to new parts of the body, they have to go through several changes. They first have to become able to break away from the original tumor and then attach to the outside wall of a lymph vessel or blood vessel. Then they must move through the vessel wall to flow with the blood or lymph to a new organ or lymph node.

What Does It Mean If My Report On Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Mentions Estrogen Receptor Or Progesterone Receptor

What is VERRUCOUS CARCINOMA? What does VERRUCOUS CARCINOMA mean? VERRUCOUS CARCINOMA meaning

ER and PR are special tests that the pathologist does that are important in predicting response of the DCIS to hormone therapy . Testing for ER is done for most cases of DCIS, but testing for PR is not typically needed. Results for ER and PR are reported separately and can be reported in different ways:

  • Negative, weakly positive, positive
  • Percent positive with something saying whether the staining is weak, moderate, or strong

Ask your doctor how these results will affect your treatment.

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Cancer Growth And Metastasis

In a healthy body, the trillions of cells its made of grow and divide, as the body needs them to function daily. Healthy cells have a specific life cycle, reproducing and dying off in a way that is determined by the type of cell. New cells take the place of old or damaged cells as they die. Cancer disrupts this process and leads to abnormal growth in cells. Its caused by changes or mutations in DNA.

DNA exists in the individual genes of every cell. It has instructions that tell the cell what functions to perform and how to grow and divide. Mutations occur frequently in DNA, but usually cells correct these mistakes. When a mistake is not corrected, a cell can become cancerous.

Mutations can cause cells that should be replaced to survive instead of die, and new cells to form when theyre not needed. These extra cells can divide uncontrollably, causing growths called tumors to form. Tumors can cause a variety of health problems, depending on where they grow in the body.

But not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors are noncancerous and do not spread to nearby tissues. Sometimes, they can grow large and cause problems when they press against neighboring organs and tissue. Malignant tumors are cancerous and can invade other parts of the body.

The Most Common Skin Cancer

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer and the most frequently occurring form of all cancers. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 3.6 million cases are diagnosed each year. BCCs arise from abnormal, uncontrolled growth of basal cells.

Because BCCs grow slowly, most are curable and cause minimal damage when caught and treated early. Understanding BCC causes, risk factors and warning signs can help you detect them early, when they are easiest to treat and cure.

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What Does It Mean If My Report Mentions Paget Disease

Paget disease is when cells resembling the cells of ductal carcinoma in situ are found in the skin of the nipple and the nearby skin . Paget disease of the nipple is usually associated with DCIS or invasive carcinoma in the underlying breast tissue. If Paget disease is found on needle or punch biopsy, more tissue in that area usually needs to be removed with the goal of entirely removing the area of Paget disease. Talk to your doctor about the best treatment for you.

How They Are Diagnosed

Stages of LC

Diagnosing a carcinoma can involve any of the following tests:

  • Biopsy to remove a piece of tissue or a sample of cells from your body to determine whether the cells are cancerous and, if so, where the cancer originated
  • Blood tests including a CBC , blood protein testing, tumor marker tests or circulating tumor cell tests
  • Imaging tests including X-ray, CT scan, nuclear imaging, ultrasound, MRI, digital mammography, sentinel node mapping or virtual colonoscopy

To identify a sarcoma, a biopsy is done with samples taken from the primary tumor, lymph nodes and other potentially cancerous areas. The tissue sample then undergoes any of the following tests: immunohistochemistry, light and electron microscopy, cytogenetic analysis, FISH or flow cytometry to determine the presence and extent of the cancer.

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Stage Of Cancer Carcinoma In Situ And Additional Terms

A common question is, “What stage of cancer is carcinoma in situ?” Carcinoma in situ is referred to as stage 0 cancer. At this stage, cancer is considered non-invasive. Stage 1 cancers and beyond are considered invasive, meaning that even if low, there is a potential they could spread. Other terms that may be used in defining the same thing as carcinoma in situ or stage 0 cancer include:

  • Non-infiltrating
  • Intra-epithelial

What If My Report On Ductal Carcinoma In Situ Mentions Margins Or Ink

When the entire area of DCIS is removed, the outside surface of the specimen is coated with ink, sometimes even with different colors of ink on different sides of the specimen. The pathologist looks at slides of the DCIS under the microscope to see how close the DCIS cells get to the ink . If DCIS is touching the ink , it can mean that some DCIS cells were left behind, and more surgery or other treatments may be needed. Sometimes, though, the surgeon has already removed more tissue to help make sure that this isnt needed. If your pathology report shows DCIS with positive margins, your doctor will talk to you about what treatment is best.

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Carcinoma Treatment And Therapy Options

Treatment for carcinoma varies depending on the type, location and extent of the disease, but may include:

Surgery: Depending on the type of cancer, carcinoma may be treated with the surgical removal of cancerous tissue, as well as some surrounding tissue. Minimally invasive surgical treatment methods may help to reduce healing time and reduce the risk of infection after surgery.

Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy may be used in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy. Advanced radiation therapies use image guidance before and during treatment on target tumors, and are designed to help spare healthy tissues and surrounding organs.

Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy treats carcinoma with drugs designed to destroy cancer cells, either throughout the whole body, or in a specific area. In some cases, chemotherapy may be used in combination with other treatments, such as radiation therapy or surgery.

Expert

What Does It Mean If My In

What is Carcinoma in situ? – Pathology mini tutorial

There are 2 main types of in-situ carcinoma of the breast: ductal carcinoma in-situ and lobular carcinoma in situ . Intraductal carcinoma is another name for ductal carcinoma in-situ.

LCIS is discussed on a different page.

Sometimes DCIS and LCIS are both found in the same biopsy.

In-situ carcinoma with duct and lobular features means that the in-situ carcinoma looks like DCIS in some ways and LCIS in some ways , and so the pathologist cant call it one or the other.

If DCIS is left untreated, it can go on to become an invasive cancer, so it is often called a pre-cancer. Still, we dont really understand it well. We dont think that all DCIS would go on to become invasive cancer, but we cant tell which DCIS would be safe to leave untreated. Treatment is aimed at getting rid of all the DCIS, usually by surgery. In some cases, radiation or hormone therapy is given after surgery to lower the chance that it will come back later or that invasive carcinoma will occur.

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Examples Of Carcinoma In A Sentence

carcinomacarcinomaCondé Nast TravelercarcinomaCNNcarcinoma PEOPLE.comcarcinoma BostonGlobe.comcarcinomaCNNcarcinomaNew York Timescarcinoma EssencecarcinomaHarper’s Magazine

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘carcinoma.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Understanding Your Pathology Report: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

When your breast was biopsied, the samples taken were studied under the microscope by a specialized doctor with many years of training called a pathologist. The pathologist sends your doctor a report that gives a diagnosis for each sample taken. Information in this report will be used to help manage your care. The questions and answers that follow are meant to help you understand medical language you might find in the pathology report from a breast biopsy, such as a needle biopsy or an excision biopsy.

In a needle biopsy, a needle is used to remove a sample of an abnormal area. An excision biopsy removes the entire abnormal area, often with some of the surrounding normal tissue. An excision biopsy is much like a type of breast-conserving surgery called a lumpectomy.

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How Does Tumor Grade Affect A Patients Treatment Options

Doctors use tumor grade and other factors, such as cancer stage and a patients age and general health, to develop a treatment plan and to determine a patients prognosis . Generally, a lower grade indicates a better prognosis. A higher-grade cancer may grow and spread more quickly and may require immediate or more aggressive treatment.

The importance of tumor grade in planning treatment and determining a patients prognosis is greater for certain types of cancer, such as soft tissue sarcoma, primary brain tumors, and breast and prostate cancer.

Patients should talk with their doctor for more information about tumor grade and how it relates to their treatment and prognosis.

Selected Reference
  • American Joint Committee on Cancer. AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 7th ed. New York, NY: Springer 2010.

  • Related Resources

    Risk Factors For Cancers

    What is Cancer?

    Tobacco use, alcohol use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and air pollution are risk factors for cancer .

    Some chronic infections are risk factors for cancer this is a particular issue in low- and middle-income countries. Approximately 13% of cancers diagnosed in 2018 globally were attributed to carcinogenic infections, including Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus , hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and Epstein-Barr virus .

    Hepatitis B and C viruses and some types of HPV increase the risk for liver and cervical cancer, respectively. Infection with HIV substantially increases the risk of cancers such as cervical cancer.

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    Where They Are Found

    Carcinomas are formed by epithelial cells and are diagnosed based on the type of epithelial cells at the cancer site.

    • Adenocarcinoma – epithelial cells that produce fluids or mucus, such as the breast, colon and prostate
    • Basal cell carcinoma – cells in the lower or basal layer of the epidermis
    • Squamous cell carcinoma epithelial cells that lie just beneath the outer surface of the skin or basal layer
    • Transitional cell carcinoma – a type of epithelial tissue called transitional epithelium found in the linings of the bladder, part of the kidneys , and a few other organs

    Sarcomas form in the bone and soft tissues of the body including muscles, tendons, fat, lymph vessels, blood vessels, nerves and tissue around joints. Sarcomas occur most often in the arms and legs but can be present anywhere in the body.

    There are more than 50 types of soft tissue sarcomas that are differentiated by the type of soft tissue at the cancer site, the type of cells, and similarity in appearance of the tumor cells to normal cells.

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