One in five breast cancers detected by screening is non-invasive. The term "non-invasive" means that the cancer has not developed the ability to spread either within the breast tissue or to the rest of the body. The main type of non-invasive breast cancer, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), is found when still within the milk duct. It is not certain whether all of these will ever spread to the surrounding breast tissue and therefore, there is uncertainty about the treatment required.
The NHS Breast Screening Programme funded the Sloane Project to improve the quality of care for women with screen-detected ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and other non-invasive breast cancers and atypical hyperplasias.
The aim of the original audit, launched in 2003, was to obtain good quality data from across the UK to produce the largest database in the world. By February 2012, the Sloane project had collected information on diagnoses, treatment and clinical outcomes for over 10,000 patients from 81 breast screening units. It has proved to be an important evidence base to inform the management of women with DCIS and has already published several papers.
The natural history of DCIS is still poorly understood, however, and for this reason a related registrational study is being undertaken. It will track the progress of patients who have been diagnosed with DCIS by needle biopsy and who have not been treated surgically or whose surgery has been delayed for over 12 months. Follow up data on imaging and biopsy on both screen-detected and symptomatic patients will be collected.
For further details see the The Sloane Project website.
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