Stage 0 breast cancer is the most primary stage of breast cancer. This stage may not require any treatment. However, oncologists cannot tell which stage 0 breast cancer will grow and spread and hence, it requires continuous monitoring. Many stage 0 breast cancers tend to grow or spread over time, thereby proceeding to stage 1 or higher.
Since doctors have no clear understanding of how stage 0 breast cancer will behave over time, they usually take preventive measures so that it does not spread within the breast or to the nearby lymph nodes/distant organs. Therefore, early diagnosis and proactive measures are so important for the earliest-stage breast cancer.
Stage 0 breast cancer causes no symptoms. Hence, it is more concerning. According to oncologists, the majority of the patients with stage 0 breast cancer are diagnosed during their screening or routine mammogram. Patients should not panic after their stage 0 breast cancer diagnosis. However, they should be concerned about it and visit the best cancer treatment hospital in Kolkata.
How to Define Stage 0 Breast Cancer?
Stage 0 breast cancer is often called pre-invasive cancer. It forms a cluster of abnormal cells in the breast. These cells have some characteristics of breast cancer but these are yet to spread to the nearby tissues or organs.
Different Types of Stage 0 Breast Cancer
Breasts comprise:
- Lobules (milk-producing glands)
- Ducts (these carry milk to the nipple)
- Tissues surrounding the ducts and lobules (these tissues give shapes to breasts)
Stage 0 breast cancer is of two types:
- Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS)
- Lobular Carcinoma in Situ
“In Situ” refers to a condition where abnormal cells are contained with the lobules or the ducts, depending on the type of breast cancer.
Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
This type originates in the milk ducts. DCIS comprises 1-5 per cent of newly diagnosed breast cancers every year. It is the most common form of stage 0 breast cancer.
If not treated, DCIS may tend to be invasive. In reality, untreated stage 0 DCIS ends up becoming invasive in 50 per cent of all cases.
Lobular Carcinoma in Situ
This type of stage 0 breast cancer develops in the lobules. It usually affects women in the age group of 40-50 years. An important point to be noted is: most women in this age group have their menopause. Lobular carcinoma does not show any tendency to invade surrounding tissues/organs. However, it increases the risk for other types of breast cancer. Hence, it warrants monitoring.
Women and rarely men may develop lobular neoplasia, a medical condition characterized by an increase in the number of abnormal cells in the lobules. These cells look and behave abnormally. However, lobular neoplasia is not cancer but it can increase the risk for developing other types of breast cancer.
Paget’s Disease of Breast
Paget’s disease is a rare type of breast cancer. It develops in the skin of the nipple and usually, the areola (the dark circle of skin around the nipple).
In most of the Paget’s disease, patients have at least one tumour inside the same breast, which could be invasive breast cancer or DCIS.