Over time, many stage 0 breast cancers end up growing or spreading, ultimately getting relabeled as stage 1 or higher. Until they know more, doctors tend to treat stage 0 breast cancers proactively to prevent future spread in the breast, to nearby lymph nodes or to other organs.
Even though Stage 0 breast cancer is considered “non-invasive,” it does require treatment, typically surgery or radiation, or a combination of the two.
More than 98 percent of patients who are diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer survive at least five years after their original diagnosis. While a few patients will experience recurrences, the survival rates are still encouraging.
Stage 0: Stage zero (0) describes disease that is only in the ducts of the breast tissue and has not spread to the surrounding tissue of the breast. It is also called non-invasive or in situ cancer (Tis, N0, M0). Stage IA: The tumor is small, invasive, and has not spread to the lymph nodes (T1, N0, M0).
With stage 0, abnormal cells in the breast have some cancer characteristics, but they have not yet spread into other tissues or organs. Of the two forms of stage 0 breast cancer, the most common is called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or intraductal carcinoma.
Surgery is the main treatment for DCIS. Most women are offered breast-conserving surgery. If there are several areas of DCIS in the breast, doctors may do a mastectomy to make sure that all of the cancer is removed.
According to Breastcancer.org, most recurrences happen within 5 to 10 years after initial diagnosis. The chances of a recurrence are less than 30%.
There are three main treatment options: Lumpectomy, a surgery that removes the abnormal cells and a little of the normal tissue near them. Lumpectomy and radiation. Mastectomy, a surgery that removes the entire breast.
In situ breast cancer cells are non-invasive and remain in a particular location of the breast, without spreading to surrounding tissue, lobules or ducts. Breast cancer that does not spread beyond the milk ducts or lobules is known as in situ. The two types of in situ cancers are ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma.
Stage 0 cancers are still located in the place they started. They have not spread to nearby tissues. This stage of cancer is often curable. Surgery can usually remove the entire tumor.
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the earliest stage of breast cancer, which is why it's sometimes referred to as stage 0 breast cancer. DCIS, by definition, is cancer that starts in the cells lining the milk ducts (carcinoma) and remains in the area where it originates (in situ).
It's important to understand that radiation and hormone treatments do not change survival—the 10-year survival rate for women diagnosed with DCIS is 98% regardless of whether they receive either treatment. These treatments instead reduce the risk of breast cancer down the road.
The number stages are: stage 0 – the cancer is where it started (in situ) and hasn't spread. stage 1 – the cancer is small and hasn't spread anywhere else. stage 2 – the cancer has grown, but hasn't spread.
DCIS also is referred to as stage 0 breast cancer. Women diagnosed with DCIS have very good prognoses. Ten years after DCIS diagnosis, 98% to 99% of women will be alive. Based on this good prognosis, DCIS usually is treated by lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy.
Will DCIS return or spread? Since DCIS is a noninvasive form of cancer, it does not spread throughout the body (metastasize). For patients having a lumpectomy with radiation, the risk of local recurrence ranges from 5% to 15%.
The psychosocial and behavioral fatigue-related factors in DCIS patients are known to perpetuate fatigue in BCS.
A condition in which abnormal cells are found in the tissues of the breast. There are 2 types of stage 0 breast carcinoma in situ: ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and Paget disease of the nipple. DCIS is a condition in which the abnormal cells are found in the lining of a breast duct.
There is also evidence from epidemiological studies that there is an inherited predisposition to DCIS. Women with DCIS have been shown to be 2.4 times (95 % CI 0.8, 7.2) more likely to have an affected mother and sister with breast cancer than controls [13].
Category 0 means the findings are unclear. The radiologist will need more images to determine a score. In that case, the recommended follow-up care calls for more testing, such as: Conducting additional mammograms or an ultrasound to see different angles of the breast tissue.
Most DCIS likely takes a long time — possibly years — to develop into invasive cancer, and some DCIS will never develop into invasive cancer. Understanding which patients with DCIS are at low risk for developing invasive breast cancer and which patients are at high risk is an important goal of the DCIS program.
Generally, patients diagnosed with DCIS have an excellent long-term breast-cancer-specific survival of around 98% after 10 years of follow-up24–27 and a normal life expectancy.
Age: Women who develop breast cancer before age 35 are more likely to get breast cancer again. Cancer stage: Cancer stage at the time of diagnosis correlates with the risk of the cancer being able to recur.
Most prospective trials in DCIS patients used conventionally fractionated whole-breast RT up to a total dose of 48-50 Gy. Hypofractionation with single doses of 2.5-2.7 Gy up to total doses of 40-42.5 Gy have been extensively studied in invasive breast cancer.