Outcomes following pre-invasive breast cancer

Two landmark studies, carried out in conjunction with NHS England, have examined the long-term outcomes following ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is the commonest form of pre-invasive breast cancer.   

The first one examined data on 35,000 women whose DCIS was detected via the NHS breast screening programme.  It showed that the risk of dying from breast cancer was similar to that for women in the general population for about five years after diagnosis of DCIS.  But, after that, the risk increased and the 20-year risk of death from breast cancer was twice that of women in the general population.  

The second study looked at data on 27,000 women whose disease was not screen-detected and showed that the risk of mortality from breast cancer were even higher. 

These studies have important implications for the management of patients with DCIS in the future. 

• Mannu GS, Wang Z, Broggio J, Charman J, Cheung S, Kearins O, Dodwell D. Darby SC. Invasive breast cancer and breast cancer mortality after ductal carcinoma in situ in women attending for breast screening in England, 1988-2014: population based observational cohort study BMJ 2020;369:m1570

  This study was awarded the 2020 Office for National Statistics Research Excellence prize.

• Mannu G S, Wang Z, Dodwell D, Broggio J, Charman J, Darby S C. Invasive breast cancer and breast cancer death after non-screen detected ductal carcinoma in situ from 1990 to 2018 in England: population based cohort study      BMJ 2024; 384 :e075498 doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-075498

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