Upgrade Rate of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ to Invasive Carcinoma and the Clinicopathological Factors Predicting the Upgrade Following a Mastectomy: A Retrospective Study

Background The rate of upgrading ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive cancer varies widely in the literature with no consensus regarding sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for DCIS; however, some guidelines do recommend it in the event of a mastectomy. The primary aim of this study was to determine the upgrade rate of DCIS to invasive carcinoma (IC) in patients undergoing mastectomy for DCIS and identify the clinicopathological predicting factors for the upgrade. The secondary aim was to determine the SLNB positivity rate. Methodology We retrospectively analysed consecutive patients with DCIS diagnosed through a biopsy who then underwent mastectomy over a 10-year period (2010 to 2020). Clinical, radiological, and histological variables were collected from medical records. Results We studied 143 women (mean age = 57.4 years, range = 26-85 years) who underwent mastectomy for DCIS identified on biopsy. Almost two-thirds (62.9%, 90/143) of the patients were detected on screening mammography, while 35.6% (51/143) were diagnosed following presentation with either an area of palpable concern or nipple discharge. The most common mammographic presentation of DCIS was calcification (83.9%, 120/143), and, in 85.9% of the patients, the mammographic lesion was more than 20 mm. High-grade DCIS was noted in 76.9% of preoperative biopsy results, while the rest was either low or intermediate-grade DCIS. Overall, 24.5% (35/143) were upgraded to IC (upgraded group) on postoperative histology, whereas 108/143 remained DCIS postoperatively (pure DCIS group). The positivity rate of SLNB was 4.8%. Multifocality was the only significant predictor of IC on multivariate analyses of clinicopathological predictors (odds ratio = 3.0, 95% confidence interval = 1.0-8.7). The presence of comedonecrosis was higher in the upgraded group compared to the pure DCIS group (42.9% vs. 27.8%), but this was not statistically significant. Conclusions In our study cohort, nearly one in four (24.5%) patients were upgraded from DCIS to IC on postoperative histology, with an SLNB positivity rate of 4.8%. This is important when counselling patients regarding the risk of coincident occult IC and the importance of SLNB at the time of mastectomy. Multifocality on preoperative imaging was the only significant predictive factor. Based on this result, we recommend that SLNB should also be considered if patients have multifocal DCIS and planned for oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery. However, further studies are required to investigate the association between multifocal DCIS and the risk of upgrading to IC.