Study: common form of breast cancer may warrant less aggressive treatment

'We're not suggesting a do-nothing, wait-and-see approach,' says lead researcher in study of more than 100,000 women with breast cancer of the milk duct

Women who are treated for what has come to be considered a non-invasive breast cancer of the milk duct could need less treatment - not more - a new study of more than 100,000 women indicates.

The study, which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oncology this week, found that women treated for ductal carcinoma in situ, a group of abnormal cells found in the milk duct, were not significantly less likely to die of breast cancer than women on average. Some patients who received radiation therapy actually fared worse, especially if the treatment was on the left side.