Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: Pathology

Ductal carcinomata in situ (DCIS) are both biologically and morphologically a heterogeneous group of neoplastic intraductal proliferations of the breast tissue, they represent an important precursor lesion for the development of invasive breast carcinoma and their diagnosis increases due to improved imaging. Nevertheless, the exact classification and differentiation from other lesions of the mammary gland tissue is often challenging for the pathologist. Therefore, this article highlights both the clinical and macroscopic presentation as well as the classification based on histomorphology and immunohistochemistry in addition to the most important differential diagnoses and the special types of DCIS.