What does it mean if the breast cancer is non-invasive? Is this always Stage 0?

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DrAttai (Physician - Surgery - Breast (Verified) ) - 03 / 09 / 2012

Noninvasive means that the cancer cells have not spread or penetrated through the basement membrane - the thin layer that lines the milk ducts and lobules. An invasive cancer occurs when the basement membrane is disrupted by the invading cancer cells; those cancer cells then have the potential to invade blood vessels or lymphatic vessels.

Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS), is considered Stage 0 – the cancer cells have not invaded the basement membrane. Lobular carcinoma in-situ (LCIS) is not actually considered a cancer, despite the name, and many now refer to this condition as “lobular neoplasia” to avoid confusion. Patients with LCIS often do require surgical excision, but generally are not treated with additional therapy such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy. However patients with LCIS are at a significantly increased risk for the future development of breast cancer (in-situ or invasive) in either breast, so often anti-estrogen medication such as tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor may be recommended for risk reduction. In addition, increased surveillance may be indicated in these patients.
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