Three national cancer organizations on August 15 issued a consensus guideline for physicians treating women who have ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with breast-conserving surgery and whole-breast irradiation.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) published the new guideline in their respective journals, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Practical Radiation Oncology, and the Annals of Surgical Oncology.
The guideline states that 2 mm should be the standard for an adequate margin in DCIS treated with whole-breast radiation therapy. This margin is associated with low rates of cancer recurrence in the breast and has the potential to decrease re-excision rates, improve cosmetic outcome, and decrease healthcare costs, the organizations said.
The initiative was supported by a grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation and included a review of 30 studies involving 7,883 patients.
The three societies hope the guideline will help physicians improve not only the quality of care they provide to women undergoing surgery for DCIS, but also outcomes for those patients, said Dr. Mariana Chavez-MacGregor from MD Anderson Cancer Center in a statement released by ASCO. Chavez-MacGregor represented ASCO on the guideline panel.
"We hope the guideline also translates into peace of mind for women who will know that future surgeries may not be needed," she said.
