Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
carcinoma in situ

carcinoma in situ

1 7.4
A group of cancer cells that stay where they started and have not spread to other body parts
  • noun
  • /ˌkɑːrsɪˈnoʊmə ɪn ˈsaɪtu/
  • Specialized
translation icon : carcinoma in situ
  • The woman was diagnosed with carcinoma in situ of the cervix, meaning her cancerous cells had not yet spread to other parts of her body.
  • ductal carcinoma in situ
  • carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Examples

  • The MIND model was developed to study the progression of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive breast cancer 4,69.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The woman was diagnosed with carcinoma in situ of the cervix (early stage cancer of the womb).

    Blog text (25)

  • Nine patients with previously diagnosed ductal carcinoma-in-situ (DCIS) or invasive breast cancer who were about to undergo mastectomy under general anaesthesia agreed.

    Academic text (1999)

  • About 63,300 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).

    Blog text (16)

  • A few days later, her doctor delivered the shocking diagnosis: carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive form of breast cancer that is confined to its original site.

  • In a recent study, researchers focused on carcinoma in situ as a critical early-stage cancer that has not invaded surrounding tissues.

Synonyms

preinvasive cancer
vscarcinoma in situ
  • Specialized
6.0

A group of cancer cells that have not yet grown into deeper tissue or spread to other body parts

is the same concept but uses a different medical term

How Invasive

carcinomatosis
  • Specialized
1 9.9
metastatic tumor
  • Specialized
1 5.1
carcinoma in situ
  • Specialized
1 7.4
dysplasia
  • Specialized
4 9.4

Surface Forms

carcinoma in situ singular
carcinomas in situ plural

Morphology

carcinoma + in + situ

The meaning is compositionally deducible as ‘carcinoma’ (a tumor) + ‘in’ + Latin ‘situ’ (in place), so someone who knows the constituents — including the Latin postmodifier — can infer ‘a tumor confined to its original site’. However, ‘situ’ is a non‑English, technical Latin term and the whole phrase is medical jargon, so many B1 learners who know the basic words still may not recognize the specialized sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Carcinoma in situ literally says a carcinoma is in situ, which can be read as 'in its place'. Imagine a small group of cancer cells that stay in the same spot and have not moved into deeper tissue or other parts of the body, so it means 'a cancer that has not yet spread'.