Is Nodal Clipping Beneficial for Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy?

Annals of Surgical Oncology - In cN1 patients rendered cN0 with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the false-negative rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is < 10% when...     

Which Eligible Breast Conservation Patients Choose Mastectomy in the Setting of Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer?

Purpose  

Breast conserving therapy (BCT) and mastectomy offer equivalent survival for women with newly diagnosed breast cancer (BrCa). Despite this, many women eligible for BCT elect mastectomy. Herein, we identify factors associated with choosing ipsilateral mastectomy instead of BCT when mastectomy is not required.     

Is SLN Biopsy Alone Safe in SLN Positive Breast Cancer Patients?

The Z0011 trial demonstrated no difference in overall survival (OS) and locoregional recurrence in breast cancer patients with a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) randomized to axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) or no further surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate locoregional recurrence in a nonrandomized group of SLN positive patients, in whom cALND was not performed, that were retrospectively categorized by the Z0011 eligibility criteria. From two hospital breast cancer databases consisting of 656 consecutive SLN positive breast cancer patients, 88 patients, who did not undergo cALND, were identified. This population was categorized by the Z0011 inclusion criteria (e.g., eligible versus ineligible) and the groups were compared. Thirty‐four patients (38.6%) were retrospectively eligible for omitting cALND according to the Z0011 criteria and 54 (61.4%) were not. The median number of SLNs removed in both groups was 1 (range 1–5). The number of positive SLNs did not differ between the groups. Tumor size was slightly larger in the ineligible group (21 mm versus 19 mm) and 76% of patients in the ineligible group underwent a mastectomy. At a median follow‐up of 26 months (range 1–84 months), one axillary recurrence was observed in the ineligible group versus 0 in the eligible group. Axillary recurrence was low, even in patients who did not meet the Z0011 inclusion criteria. Future trials that randomize Z0011 ineligible patients are needed to investigate long‐term results.     

Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Is There a Role for Deescalation of Surgery?

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive presentation of breast cancer, characterized by higher propensity for locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis compared with non-IBC. Because of extensive parenchymal and overlying dermal lymphatic involvement by carcinoma, IBC is unresectable at diagnosis. Trimodality therapy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by modified radical mastectomy and adjuvant comprehensive chest wall and regional nodal radiotherapy) has been a well-accepted treatment algorithm for IBC. Over the last few decades, several innovations in systemic therapy have resulted in rising rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) in both the affected breast and the axilla. The latter may present an opportunity for deescalation of lymph node surgery in patients with IBC, as those with an axillary pCR may be able to avoid an axillary dissection. To this end, feasibility data are necessary to address this question. There are very limited data on the safety of breast conservation of IBC; therefore, mastectomy remains the standard of care for this disease. There are also no data addressing the safety of immediate reconstruction in patients with IBC. Considering that some degree of deliberate skin-sparing to facilitate immediate breast reconstruction would be expected, given the extensive skin involvement by disease at diagnosis, the safest oncologic strategy to breast reconstruction in IBC would be the delayed approach.

     

Breast Cancer in the Elderly: Is MRI Helpful?

Appropriate use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in elderly breast cancer (BC) patients remains unclear; we sought to identify the indications and implications of MRI use in our elderly BC population. Women 70 years of age or older at first BC diagnosis with an MRI performed at our institution either perioperatively or in follow‐up were included from a prospectively maintained database from 2000 to 2010. Univariate logistic regression was used to test associations with disease identified by MRI only (additional ipsilateral, contralateral, or new cancer) following perioperative MRI. 305 BCs were imaged in 286 patients. 133 were imaged with MRI in the perioperative setting alone, 88 had only follow‐up MRIs after BC treatment, and 65 had both. Indications for perioperative MRI include: extent of disease evaluation (181; 91%); occult primary (10; 5%); high‐risk screening (5; 3%); and abnormal physical exam with negative conventional imaging (2; 1%). Disease identified by MRI only for occult primary cases was 4/10 (40%; 95% confidence interval: 12.2–73.8%) and 14/181 (7.7%; 95% confidence interval: 4.3–12.6%) for perioperative MRIs performed for extent of disease evaluation. Analysis of imaging and tumor characteristics failed to find significant predictors of disease identified by MRI only. A total of 369 post‐treatment follow‐up MRIs were performed in 148 patients with a median of 2 MRIs per patient (range 1–8), with seven cases of disease identified by MRI only (1.9%; 95% confidence interval: 0.8–3.9%). MRI had the greatest benefit in women presenting with an occult primary cancer and minimal additional benefit in elderly patients with BC undergoing MRI imaging for extent of disease evaluation or in post‐treatment surveillance.     

Does BMI Affect the Accuracy of Preoperative Axillary Ultrasound in Breast Cancer Patients?

Introduction

Obesity affects 36 % of American women and is a well-documented breast cancer risk factor. Preoperative axillary ultrasound (AUS) is used routinely for axillary staging in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients; However, the impact of obesity on the usefulness of AUS is unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the performance of AUS.

Methods

From our prospective breast surgery database, we identified 1,510 consecutive invasive breast cancers in patients undergoing primary surgery, including axillary operation, from January 2010 to July 2013. Preoperative AUS was performed in 1,375 cases (91 %). We analyzed patient, pathology and imaging data.

Results

Median BMI was 27.4 and 479 patients (36 %) were classified as obese (BMI ≥ 30). Most tumors were T1 (71 %) and estrogen receptor-positive (87 %). AUS was suspicious in 401 (29 %) patients, of whom 374 had ultrasound-guided lymph node fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Overall, 124 patients (33.2 %) were FNA positive. FNA identified disease preoperatively in 35.8 % of node-positive obese patients. For all BMI categories (normal, overweight, obese), AUS was predictive of pathologic nodal status (p < 0.0001). AUS sensitivity did not differ across BMI categories, while specificity and accuracy were better for overweight (p = 0.001 and 0.008, respectively) and obese (p = 0.007 and 0.02, respectively) patients, than for normal-BMI patients.

Conclusions

Despite theoretical concern regarding both potential technical challenges and obesity-related lymph node alterations, the sensitivity of preoperative AUS for detecting nodal metastasis was similar in obese and non-obese patients, while specificity was better in obese patients. Preoperative AUS is valuable for preoperative nodal staging of obese breast cancer patients.     

Can Surgical Oncologists Reliably Predict the Likelihood for Non-SLN Metastases in Breast Cancer Patients?

Background In approximately 40% of the breast cancer patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases, additional nodal metastases are detected in the completion axillary lymph node dissection (cALND). The MSKCC nomogram can help to quantify a patient’s individual risk for non-SLN metastases with fairly accurate predicted probability. The aim of this study was to compare the predictions of surgical oncologists for non-SLN metastases with nomogram results and to clarify the impact of nomogram results on clinical decision-making. Methods Questionnaires, containing patient scenarios, were sent to surgical oncologists involved in breast cancer care. The surgeon was asked to predict the probability for non-SLN metastases for the first five scenarios. For the remaining scenarios, the patient’s actuarial likelihood, calculated by the nomogram, was supplied. The surgeon was asked whether or not (s)he would perform a cALND. The type of hospital and the surgeon’s experience were registered. Results The concordance-index amounted to 0.78, indicating moderate concurrence between the surgical predictions and nomogram results. The intersurgeon variation was important. About 25% of the surgeons was influenced by nomogram information and decided in one or more patients to abandon the cALND. Neither the type of hospital nor experience influenced predicting abilities or the clinical decision-making process. Conclusion Individual predictions of surgical oncologists for non-SLN metastases do not correlate well with the MSKCC nomogram. The distribution between intersurgeon predictions for one scenario is important. Therefore, the nomogram is superior to clinical estimations for predicting the likelihood for non-SLN metastases.     

Determinants of Patients’ Choice of Reconstruction with Mastectomy for Primary Breast Cancer

Background: The aim of the study was to measure womens decisions about breast reconstruction (BR) after mastectomy and to assess the factors contributing to their decisions, in a context involving shared decision-making and maximum patient autonomy.Methods: Women who were about to undergo mastectomy for primary breast cancer were systematically offered choices concerning BR and time of reconstruction (intervention always covered by the French National Insurance System). Self-administered questionnaires were used prior to the operation.Results: Among the 181 respondents, 81% opted for BR and 19% for mastectomy alone. In comparison with those who chose mastectomy alone, those opting for BR more frequently recognized the importance of discussing these matters with the surgeon and their partner (adjusted odds ratio [OR^adj] = 13.45 and 3.59, respectively; P < .05) and realized that their body image was important (OR^adj = 10.55, P < .01); fears about surgery prevented some of the women from opting for BR (OR^adj = 0.688, P < .05). Among the women opting for BR, 83% chose immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) and 17% chose delayed breast reconstruction (DBR). The preference for IBR was mainly attributable to the fact that these women had benefited more frequently from doctor–patient discussions (OR^adj = 3.49, P < .05) but was also attributable to the patients physical and functional characteristics: they were in a poorer state of health (P < .05). The surgeons predicted their patients preferences fairly accurately.Conclusions: In a context of maximum autonomy, the great majority of the women chose IBR. The patients choices were explained mainly by their psychosocial characteristics. The indication for BR should be properly discussed between patients and surgeons before mastectomy.     

Should the Hunt for Internal Mammary Chain Sentinel Nodes Begin? An Evaluation of 150 Breast Cancer Patients

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the visualization rate, identification rate, and clinical implications of biopsy of sentinel nodes in the internal mammary chain (IMC) in patients with breast cancer.Methods: From January 1999 to December 2002, 691 sentinel node procedures were performed. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy was performed after injection of ^99mTc-labeled nanocolloid into the tumor (.2 mL; 115 MBq; 3.1 mCi). The sentinel node was surgically identified with the aid of patent blue dye and a gamma ray detection probe.Results: The sentinel node in the IMC could be harvested in 130 (87%) of the 150 patients in whom it was visualized on the images and contained metastases in 22 (17%) of these 130 cases. In nine patients (7%), the IMC sentinel node was tumor positive, whereas the axilla was tumor-free. Stage migration was seen in all patients with a tumor-positive IMC sentinel node (17%). There was a change of management in 38 (29%) of the 130 patients: institution or omission of radiotherapy to the IMC, adjuvant systemic therapy, or omission of an axillary lymph node dissection.Conclusions: Pursuit of IMC sentinel nodes improves the staging of patients with breast cancer and enables treatment to be better adjusted to the needs of the individual patient.     

ASO Visual Abstract: Is Nodal Clipping Beneficial for Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy?

Annals of Surgical Oncology -     

Simple Prediction Models for Breast Cancer Patients with Solitary Positive Sentinel Nodes––are they Valid?

Abstract:  Identification and prediction of breast cancer patients with metastases isolated to the sentinel lymph node(s) would potentially allow avoidance of axillary dissection and its complications. In this study, we evaluate the performance of two recently published models (Alkhatib et al. and Chagpar et al.) that attempt to predict patients who have isolated sentinel lymph node metastases. Both of these models reported a 5% rate of positive nonsentinel nodes in their respective lowest risk category. From 1997 to 2004, 465 breast cancer patients had a positive sentinel node and underwent axillary lymph node dissection at Mayo Clinic. To evaluate the Alkhatib model, patients were assigned to the following groups: group 1: 1 positive sentinel node and ≥1 negative sentinel node(s); group 2: >1 positive sentinel node and ≥1 negative sentinel node(s); group 3: 1 positive sentinel node and no negative sentinel node(s); group 4: >1 positive sentinel node and no negative sentinel node(s). To evaluate the Chagpar model, patients were assigned a score based on the sum of three factors: tumor size (T1a = 1, T1b or T1c = 2, T2 = 3, and T3 = 4 points), number of positive sentinel nodes (>1 positive sentinel node = 1 point), and ratio of positive/total sentinel nodes (>50% positive = 1 point). The chi-square test was used to compare our results to those of the original studies. For the Alkhatib model, we found that 30% (p < 0.0001) of Group 1 patients had nonsentinel node metastases. Using the Chagpar model, the percentage of patients with a cumulative score of 1 with a nonsentinel node metastasis was 17% (p = 0.19). In our cohort, neither model accurately predicted which patients have a ≤ 5% chance of having nonsentinel metastases. These models are not adequate to identify patients in whom axillary dissection can be omitted.     

Is Blue Dye Indicated for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer Patients With a Positive Lymphoscintigram?

Background The use of isosulfan blue dye in sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer has been questioned because of its risk of allergic reaction. We hypothesized that blue dye could be safely omitted in the subgroup of patients who have evidence of successful sentinel node localization by lymphoscintigraphy.Methods A retrospective review of patients with breast cancer and sentinel node biopsy was conducted. Information was collected on lymphoscintigraphy results, use of blue dye, and intraoperative and pathologic findings of sentinel nodes.Results We identified 475 patients with breast cancer who underwent 478 sentinel node biopsies. Both dye and isotope were given in 418 cases, of which 380 had a positive lymphoscintigram. In 5 of the 380 cases with a positive lymphoscintigram, the sentinel nodes obtained were blue but not hot, for a 1.3% marginal benefit of dye in the technical success of the procedure. Sentinel nodes positive for metastasis were found in 102 of 380 cases; in 3 cases, the only positive sentinel node was blue but not hot. Omission of the blue dye tracer would have increased the false-negative rate of the sentinel node procedure by approximately 2.5%.Conclusions Even in sentinel node biopsy cases with a positive lymphoscintigram, the use of blue dye is beneficial for both improving the technical success of the procedure and reducing the false-negative rate of the procedure. Because the marginal benefits of dye justify its routine use, strategies to minimize the toxicity of blue dye are warranted.Published by Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. © 2005 The Society of Surgical Oncology, Inc.     

Axillary Node Staging for Microinvasive Breast Cancer: Is It Justified?

Background

The natural history and role of axillary staging in microinvasive breast cancer (DCISM) remains controversial. We report clinical characteristics and outcome in patients with DCISM, focusing on the role of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy.

Methods

From our prospective database we retrospectively identified 112 patients with DCISM who underwent SLN biopsy between 1996 and 2004 at our institution. Median follow-up was 6?years.

Results

We found positive SLN in 12?% of patients (14 of 112): macrometastasis in 2.7?% (3 of 112) and micrometastases or isolated tumor cells (ITC) in 10?% (11 of 112). We performed axillary dissection (ALND) in all patients with macrometastasis (3 of 3), finding additional positive nodes in 66?% (2 of 3), and in 27?% of those with micrometastases/ITCs (3 of 11), finding no additional positive nodes. Among 98 patients with negative SLN (38?% of whom received systemic therapy), there were 5 locoregional recurrences (1 in the ipsilateral axilla, 4 in the ipsilateral breast, all DCIS) and 4 contralateral second primary cancers. Among 14 patients with positive SLN (82?% of whom received systemic adjuvant therapy), there were no locoregional or distant recurrences.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that SLN biopsy may be justified for DCISM, but is clearly most beneficial to identify a very small subset of DCISM patients (2.7?%, with SLN macrometastasis) who could benefit from systemic adjuvant therapy. The benefit of SLN biopsy for patients with SLN micrometastases/ITCs (pN0mi or pN0(i+)) is uncertain, and in these cases ALND does not appear to be warranted. We suggest a wider reappraisal of routine SLN biopsy for DCISM.