Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH

Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, Director of Breast Cancer Research and Attending Physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, commented on this study on recurrence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

“This is an interesting study that evaluated whether recurrent DCIS arises from the same primary tumor vs a new independent lesion. The authors found that around 18% of lesions arose independently. This likely is due to the so-called ‘field’ effect, where risk factors that lead to development of the first tumor also contribute to development of the second tumor, particularly if the risk factor is nonmodifiable.”

In addition, Dr. Bardia said the study results had potential applications for therapy and prevention of breast cancer: “The results, if validated in other data sets, could have therapeutic implications, as they would highlight the need for targeted screening and preventive strategies in patients who are at risk for developing multiple tumors.” 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Bardia has served as a consultant or advisor to Genentech/Roche, Immunomedics/Gilead, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Radius Health/Menarini, Foundation Medicine, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Daiichi Sankyo, and Eli Lilly; and has received institutional research funding from Genentech/Roche, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Sanofi, Radius Health, Immunomedics/Gilead, Daiichi Sankyo/AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Natera.