30% chance my DCIS lump will change to an invasive diagnosis?

I thought DCIS was none invasive by definition. My path report showed no invasion even though I had some area of comedo.

Hi Jones, I also had no invasive component found in three lumpectomies to get clean margins.

That figure you quote seems a little high, although there is a 20 percent chance of finding microinvasion, and a much smaller chance of finding a larger invasive component.

So, the odds are with you.

My DCIS was grade 3 and I had a lot of it, and after 2 lumpectomies and a BMX, the pathology reports showed no invasion. They did find LCIS along with the DCIS in the left breast, and ADH in the right breast, but both ADH and LCIS are less of a concern.

Hi Jonesy Me too!

My DCIS was grade 3, and before my surgery my Surgeon explained to me that although he wasn't expecting it, there was a possibility of there being an invasive component. I don't recall him giving me the stats, but I have seen 20-30% mentioned here before.

Beesie is the most knowledgeable person here, on this subject, so hopefully she'll come in and give you more information.

All the very best!

DCIS usually presents as calcifications - about 90% of the time, I believe. It's much less common to have a lump that turns out to be pure DCIS. So in a situation where the patient presents with a lump and DCIS has been diagnosed through a needle biopsy, the risk is higher that invasive cancer might be found in the final surgical pathology.

Jonesy, I know that I've read some studies that highlight what this risk level might be, but I've been searching everywhere and can't find them. What I do know is that on average, approx. 20% of women diagnosed with DCIS through a needle biopsy will in the end be found to have invasive cancer, although usually (about 15% of the 20%) it's just a microinvasion or a small T1a tumor. Since 20% is the average, it probably makes sense that for someone whose DCIS presents as a lump, the risk would be more in the range of 30%.

Sorry I can't provide anything more definitive than this. I will keep digging through all my bookmarks to see if I can find the studies that I've read previously.

I had a huge tumor - a 9cm+ lump, biopsied as Grade 3 with comedonecrosis, that ended up being pure DCIS. My surgeon was surprised; he expected to find at least microinvasions, but there were none.

You just never know - there are plenty of women with extensive DCIS and no micro-invasion, or you can have someone like me with a tiny area of DCIS that did have a micro-invasion. While a greater amount of DCIS increases the likelihood of an invasive portion, it isn't a 100% correlation by any stretch.

Hi Jonsey41, I hope you are doing ok and will be able to get through the holiday season without going crazy with this huge stress hanging over your head. I see our diagnosis are similar, both of us being double negative with DCIS. I had a tumor deep in my breast that was seen on a mammogram. However, I felt something pinching/hurting in my chest every time I bent over to pick up clothes or wipe up the floors. It bothered me for several months so I went in to see my PCP to get her opinion. She thought it might be my heart because I felt some pain whenever bending over so she ordered a echocardiogram which came back normal. It was not until I had the abnormal mammogram; which lead to the biopsy to remove the calcifications, that I realized the pain was actually being caused by that tiny, 1.5cm, amount of DCIS. The pain was gone as soon as the samples were removed. My point being, I was big breasted and the tumor was deep so I was not able to feel the lump with my fingers, but I felt pulling and pain from it so I know had it been in a different spot, I would have felt a lump. Also, it had been 18 months since my last mammogram instead of the normal 12 months so I was certain the final news was going to be bad. I too was at stage three with comedonecrosis. To my relief, the final pathology after surgery did not indicate invasive cells were found. I worried myself sick over the "what-ifs" until I had the facts. You are in that scary time of not having all the facts.

I know how hard it is to wait and not know for sure. As so many others here have said, the unknown is the worst part. You will get through this. Breast cancer treatment seems to be prescriptive these days since they know so much more about breast cancers. You will get your final diagnosis, get the prescriptive treatment for your exact needs, and be much healthier for ridding your body of the cancer. Hang in there, you are already on your path to getting healthier.