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A study on patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who underwent mastectomy found a low risk of recurrence, with no correlation observed between recurrence and positive or close margins.

The following is a summary of “Mastectomy margins for ductal carcinoma-in-situ (DCIS): 18 Years of follow-up,” published in the NOVEMBER 2023 issue of Surgery by ElSherif, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to assess the risk of recurrence in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who underwent mastectomy, focusing particularly on the significance of positive or close (<2 mm) surgical margins.

A retrospective analysis was conducted at a single institution involving patients diagnosed with DCIS who had undergone mastectomy between 2000 and 2010. The study recorded patient demographics, tumor characteristics, margin status, and the administration of adjuvant therapy. The primary outcomes evaluated were the incidence of local recurrence (LR) and distant metastasis.

From the cohort of 282 DCIS patients examined, 12.3% exhibited a positive or close margin during pathological assessment, with specifics being 9 tumors on ink and 36 margins <2 mm. Among these, 11 patients with positive or close margins received adjuvant radiation therapy. Over a median follow-up duration of 12 years, LR was observed in 3.4% of the patients, amounting to a total of 10 individuals. Intriguingly, none of the patients who experienced LR had a positive or close margin. Furthermore, no LR occurrences were reported among those who underwent radiation therapy.

The study findings suggested that the risk of recurrence post-mastectomy for DCIS remained low. Importantly, the risk did not appear to correlate with the margin status or the utilization of radiation therapy.

Source: americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(23)00326-4/fulltext