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According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women will get a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. It’s the most common cancer women face after skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death.

However, keeping up with routine screenings can help increase survival rates.

“One of the most important factors in improving prognosis of breast cancer is to catch it in its early stages,” says Meaghan Marley, MD, breast surgeon, UPMC Magee-Womens Surgical Associates in Altoona, Pa. “The best way to do this is for women to get their screening mammograms.

“Screening mammograms help find cancers when they are small, often before you are able to feel them. Some cancers, even when large, may be difficult to feel, which makes mammograms so important.”

Dr. Marley also advises being aware of any changes to your breasts, such as skin changes, nipple retraction, nipple discharge, and lumps or masses.

“These are just a few examples of findings that women should bring up to their doctor to prompt earlier breast imaging,” Dr. Marley says.

Though rare, men can also develop breast cancer.

If you ever get a breast cancer diagnosis, your doctor will explain your cancer type. If your doctor says you have invasive ductal carcinoma, here’s what that means for you.

What Is Ductal Carcinoma?

Ductal carcinoma is the most common type of breast cancer. It starts in the cells that line your milk ducts. Those are the thin tubes inside your breasts that carry milk from the lobules to the nipple.

There are two types of ductal carcinoma: ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma.

What is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)?

DCIS is when abnormal cells form in a breast duct but don’t spread outside of it.

You may wonder: Is DCIS cancer or not?

Cancer doctors call DCIS a noninvasive cancer. That means it hasn’t spread outside the milk ducts to invade the surrounding breast tissue or spread to lymph nodes.

In breast cancer staging, DCIS is 0-stage cancer. DCIS may turn invasive. So, doctors treat DCIS to prevent it from turning into invasive ductal carcinoma.

What is invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC)?

Invasive ductal carcinoma is when cancer spreads outside the milk duct wall and attacks surrounding normal tissue. It can also spread through nearby lymph nodes, the lymph system, and the bloodstream to other body parts. IDC accounts for 70% to 80% of all breast cancers, according to the ACS.

What is cancer staging?

Your breast cancer stage depends on how far it has spread and its tumor size. For IDC, the different cancer stages are:

• Stage 0 — This is when cancer is still in the milk ducts.

• Stage 1, 2, or 3 — The higher the number, the more cancer has spread to your lymph nodes and/or the larger the size of the cancer. Doctors also write these as Stage I, Stage II, or Stage III.

• Stage 4 — This is when cancer has spread to distant parts of your body, such as the bones, lungs, or brain. Doctors also write this as Stage IV. It’s also called metastatic breast cancer.

Much more than just cancer staging goes into your cancer outlook and may affect your treatment options. This includes:

• If this is a new cancer or a recurrence (previous breast cancer that has returned).
• The growth rate of cancer cells.
• The hormone-receptor (HR) status of the cancer — The hormones estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) can fuel cancer cell growth. Your tumor is either positive or negative for these receptors.
• The cancer’s HER2 status — HER2 stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, a protein that can cause cells to grow out of control. Your HER2 status is also either positive or negative. HER2+ breast cancer is more aggressive.
• Your age, overall health, and menopausal status (if female).

All these factors can also affect the survival rate of someone with invasive ductal carcinoma.

How Do Doctors Treat Ductal Carcinoma in Situ?

Cancer doctors treat DCIS with one of two treatment scenarios:

• Lumpectomy and radiation therapy — During a lumpectomy, also called breast-conserving surgery, the surgeon removes the cancerous tumor and a thin margin of normal tissue around it. You may or may not also need to take a hormone-blocking medicine for several years.
• Total mastectomy — This is surgery to remove your entire breast. You may or may not also need to take a hormone-blocking medicine or receive radiation therapy.

How Do Doctors Treat Invasive Ductal Carcinoma?

Treatment for IDC can include surgery to remove the cancer, chemotherapy (or other drug therapy), and radiation therapy.

Cancer surgeries may include lumpectomy or mastectomy. You may need other surgeries if your cancer has spread. Radiation therapy almost always follows a lumpectomy to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back and increase your chance of long-term survival.

For chemotherapy, taking medicines that kill fast-growing cancer cells is often necessary to keep cancer cells from spreading. However, not everyone needs chemo. Some cancer medicines may work better.

Doctors may use these cancer medicines instead of or with chemo:

• Hormone-blocking therapy — These medicines block or break down estrogen and progesterone hormone receptors that fuel cancer cell growth.
• Immunotherapy — These medicines stimulate the immune system to help fight the cancer.
• Targeted therapy — These medicines target and kill certain proteins found in cancer cells that help them grow, spread, or live longer.

What Is the Survival Rate for Invasive Ductal Carcinoma?

Survival rates can provide estimates of long-term survival and are part of your cancer prognosis or outlook. A relative survival rate compares people with the same breast cancer stage and type to people in the overall population.

According to data compiled by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the overall relative five-year survival rate for females with breast cancer is 91.2%. That means that women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer are, on average, 91.2% as likely as women who don’t have cancer to live for at least five years after diagnosis.

The NCI also breaks down the relative five-year survival rate for females with breast cancer and males with breast cancer as follows:

• Localized breast cancer is 99.6% for females and 95% for males — Localized means the cancer hasn’t spread outside the breast tissue.

• Regional breast cancer is 86.7% for females and 84% for males — Regional means the cancer has spread to regional or nearby lymph nodes.
• Distant breast cancer is 31.9% for females and 20% for males — Distant means the cancer has spread or metastasized to other body parts. When this happens, it’s much more difficult to treat.

How long you live depends on the type of treatment you get and how your cancer responds to treatment.

The NCI calculated current survival rates based on women with breast cancer diagnosed between 2014 and 2020 and men diagnosed between 2012 and 2018. With new treatments coming out, your prognosis may change for the better.

The experts at UPMC Magee-Womens and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center provide compassionate breast cancer care, from prevention to diagnosis and treatment. To find a provider near you, visit our website.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on February 10, 2025, and was last reviewed on August 6, 2025.