IMRT for partial breast irradiation for DCIS – pro
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive breast cancer. In DCIS, abnormal cells are contained in the milk ducts. It is called “in situ” (which means “in place”) because the cells have not left the milk ducts to invade nearby breast tissue. Without treatment, the abnormal cells could turn into invasive cancer over time, or are merely a marker for a propensity for it. Left untreated, about 20 to 30 percent of patients with low grade DCIS will progress to invasive breast cancer.
IMRT is recommended by guidelines for DCIS. ASTRO gives is a “Strong” recommendation.
The following summary of this 2023 guidelines is presented at breastcancer.org:
The panel strongly recommended the following ways to deliver partial-breast radiation for either early-stage breast cancer or DCIS:
3D conformal radiation therapy
intensity-modulated radiation therapy
multi-catheter brachytherapy
Swati Kulkarni Management of DCIS—A Work in Progress ONCOLOGY. Vol. 25 No. 9, 2011
Shaitelman, Simona F. et al, Partial Breast Irradiation for Patients With Early-Stage Invasive Breast Cancer or Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: An ASTRO Clinical Practice Guideline. Practical Radiation Oncology, Volume 14, Issue 2, 112 – 132
https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/partial-breast-radiation-guidelines-2023-update, Accessed 10/22/2025Accessed 10/22/2025