Treatment
Carcinoma in situ is, by definition, a localized phenomenon, with no potential for metastasis unless it progresses into a "true" cancer. Therefore, its removal eliminates the risk of subsequent progression into a life-threatening condition. This concept is in some ways analogous to uprooting a tree - easy when a young sapling, and much more difficult later.
Some forms of CIS (e.g. colon polyps and polypoid tumours of the bladder) can be removed using an endoscope, without conventional surgical resection. Dysplasia of the uterine cervix is removed by excision (cutting it out) or by burning with a laser. Bowen's disease of the skin is removed by excision. Other forms require major surgery, the best known being intraductal carcinoma of the breast (also treated with radiotherapy). One of the most dangerous forms of CIS is the "pneumonic form" of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma of the lung, which can require extensive surgical removal of large parts of the lung. When too large, it often cannot be completely removed, with eventual disease progression and death of the patient.
Read more about this topic: Carcinoma In Situ
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