Obesity in breast cancer – What is the risk factor?

Environmental factors influence breast cancer incidence and progression. High body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased risk of post-menopausal breast cancer and with poorer outcome in those with a history of breast cancer. High BMI is generally interpreted as excess adiposity (overweight or obesity) and the World Cancer Research Fund judged that the associations between BMI and incidence of breast cancer were due to body fatness. Although BMI is the most common measure used to characterise body composition, it cannot distinguish lean mass from fat mass, or characterise body fat distribution, and so individuals with the same BMI can have different body composition. In particular, the relation between BMI and lean or fat mass may differ between people with or without disease. The question therefore arises as to what aspect or aspects of body composition are causally linked to the poorer outcome of breast cancer patients with high BMI. This question is not addressed in the literature. Most studies have used BMI, without discussion of its shortcomings as a marker of body composition, leading to potentially important misinterpretation. In this article we review the different measurements used to characterise body composition in the literature, and how they relate to breast cancer risk and prognosis. Further research is required to better characterise the relation of body composition to breast cancer.     

The beginning of a decline in breast cancer incidence in Italy?

The incidence of invasive breast cancer in Turin, Italy, showed a statistically significant decrease during 1999-2003 overall (estimated annual percent change -2.6; 95% CL -8.52; -0.78) and in women aged over 50, similar to the recently documented trend in American data. This represents the first demonstration of a decline in breast cancer incidence in the early years of this decade outside the United States. In our population, the drop in the usage of hormone replacement therapy which occurred after 2002 is unlikely to be at the origin of this declining incidence trend, which is largely explained by a screening effect. This observation may be relevant to other geographical areas where organized or spontaneous screening reached a plateau after an increase in the preceding years.     

The decline in breast cancer incidence: Real or imaginary?

Breast cancer is a major global problem, with nearly 1 million cases occurring each year. Over the past several decades, the disease’s incidence has risen worldwide, increasing in developing and developed countries. This rise in breast cancer incidence has been attributed to changes in lifestyle and reproductive factors and to the dissemination of population-wide mammographic screening, which facilitates diagnosis. Recently, a decline in breast cancer incidence was reported in the United States and several other developed countries, and a substantial reduction in menopausal hormone therapy use was proposed as a possible cause. However, significant controversy remains as to the timing, causes, generalizability, and longevity of this reported decline in incidence.     

What is the Japanese consensus on adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer?

The international conference of adjuvant therapy for primary breast cancer in St. Gallen and the National Institute of Health Consensus Conference for Breast Cancer Treatment have recommended appropriate treatment for individual subgroups by recurrence risk. However, evidence provided by Japanese clinical trials did not contribute to the consensus recommendations. To compare the risk of recurrence in breast cancer patients between Japan and western countries, a database of Japanese breast cancer patients was analyzed. From 1991 to 2001, approximately 12100 articles listed on MEDLINE were reviewed by abstract, and articles were then selected and reviewed by the authors. According to the AHPC (Agency for Health Care Policy and Research), quality assessment and strength for recommendation of the evidence from clinical trials were classified. Even though there are likely some unknown ethnic differences, we should provide Japanese patients with state of the art treatment for breast cancer in accordance with global standard therapies, which have been evaluated by breast cancer specialists in western countries.     

What affects the public healthcare costs of breast cancer in New Zealand?

Backgrounds

The pressure to the healthcare system for providing ongoing monitoring and treatment for breast cancer survivors is increasing. This study aims to identify the factors that affect the public healthcare costs of stage I–III breast cancer and stage IV cancer in New Zealand.

Methods

We identified women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2018 and who received services in a public hospital. Patients were identified from the National Breast Cancer Register and/or New Zealand Cancer Registry and were linked to the national administrative datasets. A two-part model was used to identify the factors that affect the public healthcare costs of stage I–III breast cancer and stage IV cancer.

Results

We identified 16,977 stage I–III and 1,093 stage IV breast cancer patients eligible for this study. The costs of stage I–III cancer in the second to fifth year post diagnosis decreased over time, and the costs of stage IV cancer in the first year post diagnosis increased over time. After adjustment for other factors, the costs of stage I–IV cancer decreased with age but increased with cancer stage. HER2+ cancers had the highest costs, followed by triple negative cancers. After adjustment for other factors, Pacific and Asian women had lower costs, and Māori had similar costs compared to others. For stage I–III cancers, women living in nonmajor urban areas had a higher chance of incurring costs in follow-up years, and screen detected patients and patients having any services in a private hospital had a decreased probability of receiving any public healthcare services.

Conclusions

Pacific women had higher costs than others, but after adjustment for cancer stage, subtype, and other factors, they had lower costs than others. The early detection and better management of stage I–III breast cancer can lead to better outcome and lower costs in follow-up years.     

What is the predictor for invasion in non-palpable breast cancer with microcalcifications?

PURPOSE: To assess the presence of invasion in non-palpable breast cancer with microcalcifications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We investigated 157 patients with non-palpable breast cancer with microcalcifications, who had undergone stereotactic core biopsy or vacuum-assisted breast biopsy and operation at the Cancer Institute Hospital between 1995 and 2001. We investigated the correlation between the area of calcification (maximum range of microcalcifications measured in mm by direct mammography), morphology of calcification on mammography, histological subtype of intraductal carcinoma (comedo or non-comedo) and frequency of invasion, and lymph node metastasis. The chi-square test was used in the statistical analysis and p values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Invasion was observed in 33 of 157 pts (21%), of whom 23 showed minimal invasion, which is less than 0.5 cm in greatest diameter. The risk of invasion was 13% within 10 mm of the microcalcifications (n =70), 25% from 11 to 30 mm (n =59), and 32% more than 31 mm from the microcalcifications (n =28). The risk of invasion was 16% for punctate-round and amorphous type (n =87) microcalcifications, and 27% for pleomorphic and linear-branching types (n =70)(p =0.092). In addition, invasion was found 10% of the time within 10 mm of punctate-round and amorphous type microcalcifications, and 20% of the time at 11 mm or more. On the other hand, invasion was found 15% of the time within 10 mm of pleomorphic and linear-branching type microcalcifications, and 37% of the time at 11 mm or more. In 72 cases of intraductal carcinoma diagnosed by pathological examination, invasion was found in 10 of 31 (32%) comedo type intraductal carcinomas and in 5 of 41 (12%) non-comedo types (p =0.0379). There were 5 cases (3.2%) with axillary lymph node metastasis, all of which widely extended more than 21 mm from the microcalcifications. CONCLUSION: The risk of invasion was 10% within 10 mm of punctate-round and amorphous type microcalcifications, and 37% at more than 11 mm of pleomorphic, linear-branching microcalcifications.     

What is the future of magnetic nanoparticles in the axillary management of breast cancer?

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) possess unique properties, which make them highly attractive for medical applications. The use of MNPs in surgery has mainly been focused on their role in the identification of metastatic lymph node involvement. There have been developments within this field, including ongoing and newly conducted clinical trials. The current published evidence for the use of MNPs in assessing metastatic lymph node spread using sentinel lymph node biopsy and non-invasive imaging modalities is reviewed and future applications considered.     

Do participants in adjuvant breast cancer trials reflect the breast cancer patient population?

AimTo describe the proportion of women in Tayside, Scotland diagnosed with early breast cancer who would have been eligible for influential adjuvant breast cancer trials.MethodsPhase III trials of adjuvant treatment for breast cancer referenced in five national guidelines were shortlisted by breast cancer specialists to identify the twelve considered most influential. Eligibility criteria were extracted from protocols and applied to a 16-year cohort of women who had received a diagnosis of breast cancer and the proportion meeting trial criteria calculated. The criteria used clinically in Tayside to make decisions about use of the trial treatments were also applied to the cohort. Finally, the proportion of women receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy as part of their care and who would have been eligible for the trial evaluating that therapy was calculated.ResultsOf the cohort’s 4811 women, 3535 (73%) were eligible for at least one trial but eligibility for an individual trial rarely exceeded 45%. There were substantial differences between the proportion of women meeting trial eligibility criteria and the proportion considered clinically eligible for the same treatment. The proportion of women receiving an endocrine therapy as part of their care who would also have been eligible for the trial evaluating that treatment ranged from 17% to 56%.ConclusionClinical eligibility criteria may be at variance with trial criteria. For adjuvant endocrine therapy, a substantial proportion of women who would have been ineligible for a trial nevertheless received the trial treatment as part of their care.     

What is the role of chemotherapy in estrogen receptor-positive,advanced breast cancer?

Most breast tumors depend on female sex hormones for development and growth, thus being amenable to endocrine therapies. In the management of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, advanced breast cancer, conventional wisdom dictates the use of endocrine therapy for patients with good prognostic features, whereas chemotherapy is recommended for the treatment of visceral crisis. There is, however, considerable uncertainty regarding the best initial strategy for patients with poor prognostic features other than visceral crisis, such as small-volume visceral involvement and a short disease-free interval after adjuvant therapy. In this article, we examine the role of chemotherapy in ER-positive, advanced breast cancer. Our review of the literature suggests that, in the absence of visceral crisis, endocrine agents should always be considered a major option for the initial treatment of ER-positive, metastatic breast cancer due to their proven efficacy and favorable toxicity profile. Although certain chemotherapy agents can induce higher response rates and more rapid responses, which are desirable effects in particular situations, the up-front use of chemotherapy does not seem to influence the overall outcome of the disease. In the subset of patients with epidermal growth factor type 2-positive disease, on the other hand, current data still do not support the use of endocrine agents alone.     

Who are the breast cancer survivors in Malaysia?

Introduction: Worldwide, breast cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in women. However, thesurvival rate varies across regions at averages of 73%and 57% in the developed and developing countries,respectively. Objective: This study aimed to determine the survival rate of breast cancer among the women ofMalaysia and characteristics of the survivors. Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on secondarydata obtained from the Breast Cancer Registry and medical records of breast cancer patients admitted toHospital Kuala Lumpur from 2005 to 2009. Survival data were validated with National Birth and Death Registry.Statistical analysis applied logistic regression, the Cox proportional hazard model, the Kaplan-Meier methodand log rank test. Results: A total of 868 women were diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2005 andDecember 2009, comprising 58%, 25% and 17% Malays, Chinese and Indians, respectively. The overall survivalrate was 43.5% (CI 0.573-0.597), with Chinese, Indians and Malays having 5 year survival rates of 48.2% (CI0.444-0.520), 47.2% (CI 0.432-0.512) and 39.7% (CI 0.373-0.421), respectively (p<0.05). The survival rate waslower as the stages increased, with the late stages were mostly seen among the Malays (46%), followed by Chinese(36%) and Indians (34%). Size of tumor>3.0cm; lymph node involvement, ERPR, and HER 2 status, delayedpresentation and involvement of both breasts were among other factors that were associated with poor survival.Conclusions: The overall survival rate of Malaysian women with breast cancer was lower than the westernfigures with Malays having the lowest because they presented at late stage, after a long duration of symptoms,had larger tumor size, and had more lymph nodes affected. There is an urgent need to conduct studies on whythere is delay in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer women in Malaysia.     

The turn of the gradient? Educational differences in breast cancer mortality in 18 European populations during the 2000s

This study aims to investigate the association between educational level and breast cancer mortality in Europe in the 2000s. Unlike most other causes of death, breast cancer mortality tends to be positively related to education, with higher educated women showing higher mortality rates. Research has however shown that the association is changing from being positive over non‐existent to negative in some countries. To investigate these patterns, data from national mortality registers and censuses were collected and harmonized for 18 European populations. The study population included all women aged 30‐74. Age‐standardized mortality rates, mortality rate ratios, and slope and relative indexes of inequality were computed by education. The population was stratified according to age (women aged 30‐49 and women aged 50‐74). The relation between educational level and breast cancer mortality was predominantly negative in women aged 30‐49, mortality rates being lower among highly educated women and higher among low educated women, although few outcomes were statistically significant. Among women aged 50‐74, the association was mostly positive and statistically significant in some populations. A comparison with earlier research in the 1990s revealed a changing pattern of breast cancer mortality. Positive educational differences that used to be significant in the 1990s were no longer significant in the 2000s, indicating that inequalities have decreased or disappeared. This evolution is in line with the “fundamental causes” theory which stipulates that whenever medical insights and treatment become available to combat a disease, a negative association with socio‐economic position will arise, independently of the underlying risk factors.     

What progress have we made in managing inflammatory breast cancer?

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and aggressive form of the disease. It is diagnosed based on clinical signs of a rapidly enlarging, tender, erythematous, edematous breast that often presents without an underlying breast mass. IBC historically was considered a uniformly fatal disease. With the advent of multimodality treatments including primary systemic chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy, approximately one-third of women diagnosed with IBC will become long-term survivors. This review examines the limitations of the current definition of IBC, explores our current understanding of the biology of IBC, and reviews the many exciting advances in locoregional and systemic treatment of IBC.