Whats the evidence for surgery plus radiotherapy for ductal carcinoma in situ?
There’s good research to show that having radiotherapy after surgery reduces the risk that your ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will come back in the same place. We found two reviews of the research (systematic reviews) that looked at several good-quality studies (randomised controlled trials).[1] [2] The researchers compared radiotherapy with no radiotherapy after surgery for DCIS. The studies followed women for up to 10 years after treatment. The results showed that cancer was more likely to come back in women who did not have radiotherapy.[1] [2] Although radiotherapy helped stop women’s cancer from coming back, it didn’t affect how long they lived. Women lived just as long after surgery, whether they had radiotherapy or not.References Rutqvist LE, Rose C, Cavallin-Stahl E. A systematic overview of radiation therapy effects in breast cancer. Acta Oncologica. 2003; 42: 532-545. Goodwin A, Parker S, Ghersi D, et al. Post-operative radiotherapy for ductal carcinoma in situ of the breas
