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Breast cancer

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    • Home
    • Types
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget's disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget’s disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Awareness
      • iPrevent
    • Diagnosis
      • Tests
        • Triple test
      • Stages of breast cancer
      • Receiving a diagnosis
      • Diagnosis of early breast cancer
        • What the pathology report means
      • Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ
        • What the DCIS pathology report means
      • Diagnosis when breast cancer spreads
      • Questions to ask
    • Treatment
      • Treatment team
        • Members of the team
        • Talking with health professionals
        • Questions to ask
      • Deciding about treatment
        • Travelling
        • Pregnancy
        • Tips for making decisions
        • Questions to ask
        • MammaPrint ® (70 gene signature) test
      • Surgery
        • Breast-conserving surgery
        • Mastectomy
        • Surgery to the armpit (axilla)
        • Surgery for metastatic breast cancer
        • Breast reconstruction
        • Choosing a surgeon
        • Questions to ask
        • Care after surgery
      • Radiotherapy
        • Early breast cancer
        • Metastatic breast cancer
        • Questions to ask
        • Skin care
        • Travelling
      • Chemotherapy
        • How does chemotherapy work?
        • Type of chemotherapy
        • What does chemotherapy involve?
        • Side effects
        • Questions to ask
      • Hormonal therapies
        • Hormone receptors
        • Types of hormonal therapy
        • Side effects
        • Menopause and oestrogen production
        • Deciding about hormonal therapies
        • Questions to ask
      • Targeted therapies
        • HER2 receptors
        • Types of targeted therapy
        • Questions to ask
      • Complementary & alternative therapies
        • Complementary therapies
        • Questions to ask
        • Where to find more information
      • Palliative care
        • What is palliative care?
        • Accessing palliative care
        • Questions to ask
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget's disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
      • Follow-up
        • Physical examinations
        • Breast imaging tests
        • Questions to ask
      • Advanced disease
        • When treatment stops
        • Facing the possibility of dying
        • Putting your affairs in order
        • Questions to ask
      • Recurrent and secondary cancer
        • What makes spread more likely
    • Living with
      • Practical aspects of diagnosis
        • Costs of treatment and prostheses
        • Travel schemes
        • Questions to ask
        • Choosing a cancer treatment
      • Physical changes
        • Body image
        • Menopause
        • Fertility
        • Lymphoedema
      • Emotional changes
        • How you might feel
        • Effects on partners
        • Effects on children
        • Effects on family and friends
      • Physical changes – metastatic
        • Pain
        • Symptoms and treatment side effects
      • Emotional changes – metastatic
        • Common feelings
      • Practical aspects - metastatic
        • Work
        • Financial support
        • How to access support at home
        • How to access support outside home
        • Questions to ask
    • Life after
      • Health
        • Fatigue
        • Poor sleep
        • Lymphoedema
        • Menopause
        • Pain
        • Diet
        • Exercise
      • Feelings
        • Finding a new ‘normal’
        • Fear of recurrence
        • Feelings of loss
        • Isolation
        • Anxiety and depression
        • Not sure how you feel?
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        • Partners
        • Children
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        • Colleagues
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        • Returning to work
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      • What are the phases of a clinical trial?
      • Advantages and disadvantages
      • Questions to ask about clinical trials
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      • Screening
      • Breast cancer diagnosis
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      • Ductal carcinoma
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      • Breast cancer Qstream
  1. Home
  2. Diagnosis
  3. Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ
  4. What the DCIS pathology report means
  • Tests
  • Stages of breast cancer
  • Receiving a diagnosis
  • Diagnosis of early breast cancer
  • Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ
    • What the DCIS pathology report means
  • Diagnosis when breast cancer spreads
  • Questions to ask

What does the DCIS pathology report mean?

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  • A|A

The DCIS pathology report contains important information about a woman’s DCIS that is used to decide on treatment recommendations.

Some of the information in the pathology report will only be available after breast surgery.

The pathology report usually includes the following information:

  • Size and location
  • Surgical margin
  • Grade of DCIS
  • Hormone receptors

Size and location

The report shows the size of the DCIS and where it is in the breast. This will affect what treatments are recommended, including the type of surgery.

Surgical margin

During a surgical biopsy or breast conserving surgery, the surgeon removes the DCIS and an area of healthy looking tissue around the DCIS. The healthy looking tissue is called the surgical margin. If there are no DCIS cells in the surgical margin, it’s likely that all the DCIS has been removed. In this case, the surgical margin is said to be ‘clear’. If the surgical margin is not considered to be ‘clear’, more surgery may be required to ensure that all of the DCIS is removed.

Grade of DCIS

The grade of the DCIS shows how fast the abnormal cells are growing. DCIS grade is numbered from 1 to 3. A low grade (Grade 1) means that the DCIS is growing slowly. A high grade (Grade 3) means that the cancer is growing more quickly.

Hormone receptors

The report may show whether the DCIS cells are positive or negative for hormone receptors. This will affect whether hormonal therapies are recommended.

  • Last Updated
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updated: 20 October 2020 - 3:32pm
Australian Cancer Trials

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Treatment and side effects
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The treatment that your doctors recommend will depend on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, and other personal factors.

Living with cancer
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A diagnosis of cancer marks the beginning of a journey full of emotional, psychological, physical and practical challenges.

Life after cancer
Life after cancer

While looking forward to finishing their cancer treatment and getting on with life, for some people, the end of treatment can also be a confusing or worrying time.

A-Z List of Cancer Types

Information on more than 70 types of cancer

  • Bladder cancer
  • Bowel cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Breast cancer in men
  • Breast cancer in young women
  • Cervical cancer
  • Children's Cancer
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  • Fallopian cancer
  • Gestational trophoblastic disease
  • Gynaecological cancers
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukaemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Mesothelioma cancer
  • Myeloma
  • Neuroendocrine tumours
  • Oesophageal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Sarcoma
  • Stomach cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Unknown primary
  • Uterine sarcoma
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Vulval cancer

About Cancer Australia

Cancer Australia was established by the Australian Government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.

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