There are many treatments available for patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma. Treatments are most likely to be curative or at least effective in improving the situation when cancer is diagnosed in its early stages.

Ductal carcinoma is staged according to information obtained from the biopsy and other tests. Staging the cancer identifies whether the cancer has spread and, if so, how far and to what areas of the body. After the cancer is staged, a treatment plan will be designed for the patient. Treatment plans are designed based on information about the tumor, such as its stage, location, size and hormone-receptor status, which indicates if it will respond to certain types of therapy. The patient’s age, general health, menstrual status and personal preferences are also factors in treatment planning.

Other factors normally taken into consideration include whether or not the ductal carcinoma has just been diagnosed or if it is a recurrence. After patients are diagnosed with cancer, their treatment plan will be designed by a cancer care team. This group of health care professionals may include:

• Oncologist
  
  
• Radiation oncologist
  
  
• Surgeon
  
  
• Plastic surgeon
  
  
• Pathologist
  
  
• Oncology nurse
  
  
• Social worker
  
  
• Dietician

There are risks and benefits associated with all cancer treatment types. A brief overview of treatment options for ductal carcinoma includes:

• Breast cancer surgery. There are several types of breast cancer surgery and the type performed may depend on the size of tumor involved, as well as its location within the breast. A common option for some patients is a lumpectomy (also called a segmental mastectomy), which attempts to remove the tumor and surrounding margins of normal tissue while conserving as much of the patient’s breast as possible. Following lumpectomy, most women also receive radiation therapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells within the breast. A mastectomy may be performed to remove part or all of a breast. Breast reconstruction may also be an option for some patients following a mastectomy.
  
  
• Lymph node removal. In addition to breast cancer surgery, many surgeons also perform an axillary lymph node dissection on patients with invasive ductal carcinoma to determine whether or not the cancer has spread. This procedure removes some or all of the axillary (underarm) lymph nodes for inspection by a pathologist for evidence of cancer. A sentinel lymph node biopsy, an alternative to the axillary lymph node dissection, is another procedure that requires removal of only one or a few lymph nodes to determine if the cancer has spread.
  
  
• Radiation therapy. Most often involves the use of high-energy x-rays concentrated on the tumor site or the area from which a tumor was removed. The radiation kills cells in the area, which may include noncancerous as well as cancerous cells. Radiation therapy may also be used to shrink a tumor prior to surgical removal. For ductal carcinoma, many patients have lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy. Radiation is also used to treat symptoms such as bone pain and organ blockage, which may occur when cancer spreads.
  
  
• Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs are used to treat cancer by destroying cancer cells, preferably before they reproduce and spread throughout the body, although chemotherapy can be used even if a limited number of cells have spread. Chemotherapy is used to treat metastatic cancer as well. These powerful medications may also damage noncancerous cells. Chemotherapy may also be used in addition to other cancer treatments.
  
  
• Hormone therapy. This type of therapy is most commonly prescribed for women with breast cancer that has metastasized (spread to other areas of the body). However, it may also be recommended for women with certain early stage breast cancers to prevent a recurrence. Hormone therapy keeps cancer cells from gaining access to the hormones that help the cancer grow. Hormone therapy drugs such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors are commonly used in addition to other types of cancer treatment. Some women take tamoxifen for up to five years to prevent recurrence of breast cancer. Another type of hormone therapy is surgical removal of the ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy), which removes hormones produced by the ovaries and causes instant menopause.
  
  
• Biological therapy. The treatment is designed to bolster the body’s natural defense system, the immune system, against cancer. Biological therapy is very different from chemotherapy, but it is often used in combination with chemotherapy, since biological therapy does not kill all types of cancer cells and it can help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.  

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), recommended treatment options for DCIS patients include the following:

• Breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy, with or without the drug tamoxifen
  
  
• Breast-conserving surgery without radiation therapy
  
  
• Mastectomy with or without tamoxifen