According to a study published in JAMA August 22nd 2015, women who have DCIS could be treated less. Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, is where abnormal cells lie in the milk ducts. Women who are treated as if it is cancer (having mastectomies or lumpectomies) are no less likely to die that the norm. Indeed, those given radiotherapy actually fared worse, especially when the problem was in the left breast.
We covered all this about 10 years ago when a professor at UCLA stood up at the US breast cancer symposium and told the audience that they were over-treating DCIS, and 85% never became breast cancer. At the time, there was talk of cysts, and we presented research showing magnesium, vitamin D and omega-3 supplementation reduced the cysts and calcium deposits typically causing the abnormalities.
In some cases - in younger women, black and who are also HER-2 positive, there is more cause for concern, according to the research.
The study analysed 100,000 women from 18 databases. The researchers concluded that women who were not high-risk should have less invasive treatment.