Lobular Carcinoma in Situ (LCIS)

• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) does not cause symptoms and cannot be seen with a mammogram. This condition is usually found when a doctor is doing a breast biopsy for another reason, such as to investigate an unrelated breast lump. If a person has LCIS, the breast cells will appear abnormal under a microscope.

• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH) are both overgrowths of abnormal-looking cells in one or more lobules, the breast’s milk-producing sacs.

• With ALH, there are fewer abnormal-looking cells than LCIS.

• Both LCIS and ALH are non-cancerous breast conditions but are linked to a higher risk of invasive breast cancer later in life.

• The risk of invasive breast cancer is seven to twelve times higher than average for women diagnosed with LCI.

• The risk of invasive breast cancer is four to five times higher than average for women diagnosed with ALH.

• Some doctors use the term lobular neoplasia to describe both LCIS and ALH. This is because there is some gray area between the two categories. If your doctor uses this term, you can ask for more information about the number of abnormal cells and what they look like.