AboutNeha Dahiya MD Expertise I can help patients understand their lab report results, help them with queries regarding what pretest prepration is required. How often a follow up test needs to be done. What does a particular tissue biopsy report mean in everyday english. I can explain the biopsy or cytology procedure. I can deal with Histopathology / cytology / clinical pathology and clinical chemistry queries. Helping in this manner will be my contribution to the community.
Experience I am a pathologist and director of clinical laboratory services. I have been a practicing pathologist for last 9 years in a 350 bed multispecialty hospital laboratory.
Organizations Indian association of pathologists and microbiologists.
MIAC - Member International Academy of Cytology
International association of Pathologists - indian division
Indian association of Cytology
My mother was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma a few weeks ago. Her nipple and a lump measuring 2cm were taken out during the breast conservation surgery.
All of her lymph nodes were also taken out.
The histopathology report says :-
Sections show a ductal carcinoma In-situ(DCIS) - comedo type and focal microcalcification. The adjoining breast tissue shows sclerosis with focal epithelial hyperplasia. The nipple shows ulceration with inflammatory exudate and pagets disease with extension into nipple ducts. The deep dermis shows foci of DCIS. The radial and deep resected margins are free of tumor, superior resected margin is close to the DCIS. 19 lymph nodes dissected from axillary tissue (00/19) are free of tumor.
Specimen sent as separately as additional lateral margin shows sclerosis with ductectesia and focal epithelial hyperplasia with some atypia.
Kindly tell me what this report means ?
The surgeon is yet to view the report.
Regards,
Prashant
Answer Hello Prashant:
Your mother has been diagnosed to have Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Ductal means it is a cancer arising from the milk ducts in the breast and is "in situ" or is in place. In other words the cancer is confined to its site of origin and has not spread to the fatty tissue, lymph nodes or any other part of the body.
DCIS is technically a stage 0 cancer - an earliest form of cancer confined to the ducts. It has a good outcome. Another criteria is the grade of the tumor...that is how closely it resembles normal breast tissue. Higher the grade more likely is a cancer spread. The grade is not mentioned in this report.
The resected margins are free of tumor indicates that most likely the entire cancer has been removed.
A comedo type of cancer is more aggressive than non comedo cancers. It basically means that the ducts are plugged by dead cells. Small calcification and dead cells is what makes this type of cancer aggressive.
However, overall a DCIS has the best prognosis (outcome) compared to an infiltrating duct carcinoma...a cancer which has spread.
Your mother should do well...but will still need followup.
