Breast Cancer Screening (PDQ®): Screening - Health Professional Information [NCI]

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Evaluation of Breast Symptoms

Breast symptoms may suggest a diagnosis of breast cancer. During a 10-year period, 16% of 2,400 women aged 40 to 69 years sought medical attention for breast symptoms at their health maintenance organization.[1] Women younger than 50 years were twice as likely to seek evaluation. Additional examinations were performed in 66% of patients, with 27% undergoing invasive procedures. Cancer was diagnosed in 6.2% of patients with breast symptoms, most being stage II or III. Of the breast symptoms prompting medical attention, a mass was most likely to lead to a cancer diagnosis (10.7%) and pain was least likely (1.8%) to do so.

Pathologic Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is diagnosed by pathologic review of a fixed specimen of breast tissue. The breast tissue can be obtained from a symptomatic area or from an area identified by a screening test, usually mammography. A palpable lesion can be excised surgically or biopsied with fine-needle aspirate or core needle biopsy (CNBx). Nonpalpable lesions can be excised by surgical needle localization under x-ray guidance (SNLBx). Alternatively, a CNBx of a mammographically suspicious area can be obtained with use of stereotactic x-ray or ultrasound. In a retrospective study of 939 patients with 1,042 mammographically detected lesions who underwent CNBx or SNLBx, sensitivity for malignancy was greater than 95% and the specificity was greater than 90%. Compared with SNLBx, CNBx resulted in fewer surgical procedures for definitive treatment with a higher likelihood of clear surgical margins at the initial excision.[2]

Fine-needle aspiration, nipple aspiration, and ductal lavage are three methods of obtaining cells from breast tissue or ductal epithelium for cytological examination (refer to the Tissue Sampling [Fine-Needle Aspiration, Nipple Aspirate, Ductal Lavage] section of this summary for more information).

None of these technologies has been tested in controlled trials of screening or compared with other breast cancer screening modalities.

Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a noninvasive condition that can progress to invasive cancer, with variable frequency and time course. While some authors include DCIS with invasive breast cancer statistics, it has been suggested that the term DCIS be replaced by a classification system of ductal intraepithelial neoplasia, similar to those used to grade cervical and prostate precursor lesions. DCIS is usually diagnosed by mammography, so it is rare in unscreened women. In the United States in 1983, the prescreening era, 4,900 women were diagnosed with DCIS, compared with approximately 54,000 women who will be diagnosed in 2010.[3,4,5]

The natural history of untreated DCIS is poorly understood because women diagnosed with DCIS undergo surgery, with or without radiation and hormone therapy. According to data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute on women with newly diagnosed DCIS treated between 1984 and 1989, 1.9% died of breast cancer within 10 years of diagnosis.[6] Development of breast cancer after treatment of DCIS varies according to treatment. One large randomized trial found that 13.4% of women treated by lumpectomy alone developed ipsilateral invasive breast cancer by 90 months, compared with 3.9% of those treated by lumpectomy and radiation.[7] Another series of 706 DCIS patients, however, allowed definition of the University of Southern California/Van Nuys Prognostic Scoring Index, which defines the risk of recurrence based on age, margin width, tumor size, and grade.[8] The low-risk group, comprising a third of the cases, experienced few DCIS recurrences (1%) and no invasive cancers, regardless of whether radiation was given. The moderate- and high-risk groups had higher recurrence rates, with a beneficial preventive effect of radiation. Nonetheless, only approximately 1% had death from breast cancer. The addition of tamoxifen also reduces the incidence of invasive breast cancer after excision of DCIS.[9] Because all these studies include excision of mammographically detected DCIS, the natural history of this condition remains unknown.

Some information about the natural history of untreated, palpable DCIS is available. A retrospective review of 11,760 biopsies performed between 1952 and 1968 identified 28 cases of untreated DCIS (noncomedo type).[10,11] All were found by clinical examination, underwent biopsy only, and were followed for 30 years. Nine women (32%) developed invasive breast cancer in the area of previous DCIS. Of these, seven cancers were diagnosed within 10 years of DCIS biopsy, and two were diagnosed between 10 and 30 years after biopsy. Many of the cancers were diagnosed at advanced stages, possibly because of the false reassurance of the previous "negative" biopsy. None of the women with invasive cancer received adjuvant systemic therapy. Four eventually died of the disease. These findings have been used as an argument both for and against aggressive diagnosis and treatment of DCIS.

Many DCIS cases will not progress to invasive cancer, and those that do are likely to be managed successfully at the time of progression. Thus, treatment of all screen-detected DCIS with surgery, radiation, and/or hormone therapy represents overdiagnosis and overtreatment for many. The Canadian National Breast Screening Study-2 of women aged 50 to 59 years found a fourfold increase in DCIS cases in women screened by clinical breast examination plus mammography compared with those screened by clinical breast examination alone, with no difference in breast cancer mortality.[12] (Refer to the PDQ summary on Breast Cancer Treatment for more information.)

References:

  1. Barton MB, Elmore JG, Fletcher SW: Breast symptoms among women enrolled in a health maintenance organization: frequency, evaluation, and outcome. Ann Intern Med 130 (8): 651-7, 1999.
  2. White RR, Halperin TJ, Olson JA Jr, et al.: Impact of core-needle breast biopsy on the surgical management of mammographic abnormalities. Ann Surg 233 (6): 769-77, 2001.
  3. American Cancer Society.: Cancer Facts and Figures 2010. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society, 2010. Also available online. Last accessed April 29, 2011.
  4. Allegra CJ, Aberle DR, Ganschow P, et al.: National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference statement: Diagnosis and Management of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ September 22-24, 2009. J Natl Cancer Inst 102 (3): 161-9, 2010.
  5. Virnig BA, Tuttle TM, Shamliyan T, et al.: Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast: a systematic review of incidence, treatment, and outcomes. J Natl Cancer Inst 102 (3): 170-8, 2010.
  6. Ernster VL, Barclay J, Kerlikowske K, et al.: Mortality among women with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast in the population-based surveillance, epidemiology and end results program. Arch Intern Med 160 (7): 953-8, 2000.
  7. Fisher B, Dignam J, Wolmark N, et al.: Lumpectomy and radiation therapy for the treatment of intraductal breast cancer: findings from National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-17. J Clin Oncol 16 (2): 441-52, 1998.
  8. Silverstein MJ: The University of Southern California/Van Nuys prognostic index for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast. Am J Surg 186 (4): 337-43, 2003.
  9. Fisher B, Dignam J, Wolmark N, et al.: Tamoxifen in treatment of intraductal breast cancer: National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project B-24 randomised controlled trial. Lancet 353 (9169): 1993-2000, 1999.
  10. Page DL, Dupont WD, Rogers LW, et al.: Intraductal carcinoma of the breast: follow-up after biopsy only. Cancer 49 (4): 751-8, 1982.
  11. Page DL, Dupont WD, Rogers LW, et al.: Continued local recurrence of carcinoma 15-25 years after a diagnosis of low grade ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast treated only by biopsy. Cancer 76 (7): 1197-200, 1995.
  12. Miller AB, To T, Baines CJ, et al.: Canadian National Breast Screening Study-2: 13-year results of a randomized trial in women aged 50-59 years. J Natl Cancer Inst 92 (18): 1490-9, 2000.

Purpose of This Summary

This PDQ cancer information summary for health professionals provides comprehensive, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information about breast cancer screening. It is intended as a resource to inform and assist clinicians who care for cancer patients. It does not provide formal guidelines or recommendations for making health care decisions.

Reviewers and Updates

This summary is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary by the PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. Board members review recently published articles each month to determine whether an article should:

  • be discussed at a meeting,
  • be cited with text, or
  • replace or update an existing article that is already cited.

Changes to the summaries are made through a consensus process in which Board members evaluate the strength of the evidence in the published articles and determine how the article should be included in the summary.

Any comments or questions about the summary content should be submitted to Cancer.gov through the Web site's Contact Form. Do not contact the individual Board Members with questions or comments about the summaries. Board members will not respond to individual inquiries.

Levels of Evidence

Some of the reference citations in this summary are accompanied by a level-of-evidence designation. These designations are intended to help readers assess the strength of the evidence supporting the use of specific interventions or approaches. The PDQ Screening and Prevention Editorial Board uses a formal evidence ranking system in developing its level-of-evidence designations.

Permission to Use This Summary

PDQ is a registered trademark. Although the content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text, it cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless it is presented in its entirety and is regularly updated. However, an author would be permitted to write a sentence such as "NCI's PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks succinctly: [include excerpt from the summary]."

The preferred citation for this PDQ summary is:

National Cancer Institute: PDQ® Breast Cancer Screening. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Date last modified <MM/DD/YYYY>. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/screening/breast/healthprofessional. Accessed <MM/DD/YYYY>.

Images in this summary are used with permission of the author(s), artist, and/or publisher for use within the PDQ summaries only. Permission to use images outside the context of PDQ information must be obtained from the owner(s) and cannot be granted by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the illustrations in this summary, along with many other cancer-related images, is available in Visuals Online, a collection of over 2,000 scientific images.

Disclaimer

The information in these summaries should not be used as a basis for insurance reimbursement determinations. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer.gov on the Coping with Cancer: Financial, Insurance, and Legal Information page page.

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More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer.gov Web site can be found on our Contact Us for Help page. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer.gov through the Web site's Contact Form.

Last Revised: 2011-01-28

© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.

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