Dissecting breast cancer treatments.The improved technology and expanded use of mammography mammography, diagnostic procedure that uses low-dose X rays to detect abnormalities in the breasts. The early diagnosis of breast cancer made possible by the routine use of mammography for screening women increases a woman's treatment alternatives and improves her have led to an increase in the detection of abnormal cell division in women's breasts. But not all of these abnormalities require the aggressive treatment that is typical for most breast cancers, caution experts in the field. In the United States, mammograms detect noninvasive breast cancer in 25,000 women a year, but up to four times as many women may have these microscopic tumors, says Melvin J. Silverstein of the Breast Center in Van Nuys, Calif. Only half of these tumors become invasive, he adds. Called ductal carcinoma in situ ductal carcinoma in situ Intraductal carcinoma, DIN 3 Surgical oncology A localized form of breast CA, in which malignant cells are confined to the duct wall; DCIS has a heterogeneous biologic behavior and morphology, and is detectable by mammography Epidemiology , this disease does not require removal of the breast or lymph nodes Lymph nodes Small, bean-shaped masses of tissue scattered along the lymphatic system that act as filters and immune monitors, removing fluids, bacteria, or cancer cells that travel through the lymph system. in the adjacent armpit arm·pit n. The hollow under the upper part of the arm below the shoulder joint, bounded by the pectoralis major, the latissimus dorsi, the anterior serratus muscles, and the humerus, and containing the axillary artery and vein, the infraclavicular part , two studies confirm. In one, Silverstein treated 285 women whose tumors remained confined to the ducts and 47 whose breasts contained cancer cells outside the affected ducts. He removed the cancerous cells but not the adjacent lymph nodes and saw no difference in the rates at which tumors reappeared. The second study, involving 819 women, suggests that radiation treatment should follow the removal of the affected part of the breast. After four years, tumors developed in 57 of the 403 women who underwent lumpectomy Lumpectomy Definition A lumpectomy is a type of surgery used to treat breast cancer. It is considered "breast-conserving" surgery because in a lumpectomy, only the malignant tumor and a surrounding margin of normal breast tissue are but in only 20 of the 409 women who underwent lumpectomy plus radiation treatment, reports Donald L. Wickerham of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a leading American healthcare provider and institution for medical research. It consistently ranks in US News and World Report's "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 best hospitals in America. . However, Silverstein cautions that radiation might only delay the return of disease and that over a longer period, the difference between the two groups might diminish. |
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