What does situ mean in breast cancer?
What does situ mean in breast cancer?
Ductal means that the cancer starts inside the milk ducts, carcinoma refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues (including breast tissue) that cover or line the internal organs, and in situ means “in its original place.” DCIS is called “non-invasive” because it hasn’t spread beyond the milk duct into …
What is in situ cancer?
A group of abnormal cells that remain in the place where they first formed. They have not spread. These abnormal cells may become cancer and spread into nearby normal tissue.
What is the difference between invasive and in situ breast cancer?
In situ breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS) is a pre-cancer that starts in a milk duct and has not grown into the rest of the breast tissue. The term invasive (or infiltrating) breast cancer is used to describe any type of breast cancer that has spread (invaded) into the surrounding breast tissue.
Is carcinoma in situ considered cancer?
Carcinoma in situ, also called in situ cancer, is different from invasive carcinoma, which has spread to surrounding tissue, and from metastatic carcinoma, which has spread throughout the body to other tissues and organs. In general, carcinoma in situ is the earliest form of cancer, and is considered stage 0.
Is mastectomy recommended for DCIS?
Mastectomy involves removal of the whole breast and is usually recommended if the DCIS affects a large area of the breast, if it has not been possible to get a clear area of normal tissue around the DCIS by wide local excision, or if there is more than one area of DCIS.
Does in situ mean malignant?
Carcinoma in situ refers to cancer in which abnormal cells have not spread beyond where they first formed. The words “in situ” mean “in its original place.” These in situ cells are not malignant, or cancerous.
What will happen if ductal carcinoma in situ is not treated?
If DCIS is not treated, the cancer cells may develop the ability to spread outside the ducts, into the surrounding breast tissue. This is known as invasive breast cancer. Invasive cancer has the potential to also spread to other parts of the body.
What does the term carcinoma in situ mean?
Carcinoma in situ is an early form of cancer that is defined by the absence of invasion of tumor cells into the surrounding tissue, usually before penetration through the basement membrane. In other words, the neoplastic cells proliferate in their normal habitat, hence the name “in situ”.
How is in situ is used during surgery and cancer treatment?
Surgery. The term in situ typically refers to seeing the structures of the body where they belong. For surgeons, this means visualizing the tissue in question in the human body, where it normally rests, by creating an incision to allow the tissue to be visually examined. Surgery is the best way to visualize tissues of the human body in situ,…
