The Sloane Project: a UK prospective audit of screen-detected non-invasive carcinoma of the breast

The Sloane Project is a national prospective audit of women with screen-detected non-invasive breast carcinoma, inviting participation from all 98 UK Breast Screening Units.

The aim of the Sloane Project is to gain knowledge regarding the diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes of screen-detected carcinoma in situ and atypical hyperplasias. Particular characteristics in terms of the radiological and pathological appearance and their significance in terms of outcome are collected, together with details of surgical and adjuvant treatment, via specifically designed data forms.

Currently 57 breast screening units are submitting data, and data for more than 2,000 cases have been recorded to date. Variations in the management of this disease are already apparent from these data, with varying approaches to the use of wide local excision (WLE) and mastectomy (72.8% vs 27.2%) and with nodes being removed in 5.87% of WLE cases and 72.49% of mastectomy cases. Differences in clinical management are also apparent for adjuvant therapy, with the proportion of cases being referred for radiotherapy varying between breast screening units from 0% to 76.47% and the use of hormone therapy varying from 0% to 78.87%.

These data reinforce the need for a large-scale study of DCIS so that reliable clinical protocols for the optimal management can be developed.