A 45-year-old premenopausal woman undergoes breast conservation surgery (wide local excision) for a 1.8 cm grade 2 DCIS with clear margins (>2 mm). What is the recommended adjuvant treatment?
- A Adjuvant chemotherapy alone
- B Adjuvant radiotherapy to the whole breast ✓
- C Adjuvant tamoxifen alone
- D No adjuvant treatment needed
Correct answer: B. Adjuvant radiotherapy to the whole breast
Explanation
After breast conservation surgery for DCIS, adjuvant whole-breast radiotherapy is standard as it reduces local recurrence by approximately 50%. Chemotherapy is not indicated for DCIS as it is non-invasive. Tamoxifen may be added for ER-positive DCIS but radiotherapy is the primary adjuvant treatment after wide local excision.
Reference: Harris et al., Diseases of the Breast, 5th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.