Intra-operative Touch Preparation Cytology; Does It Have a Role in Re-excision Lumpectomy?

Objective Breast carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women of North America. The combination of breast conservation surgery and radiotherapy has become a standard of treatment for the majority of breast cancers. It is critical to obtain clear margins to minimize local recurrence. However, avoiding multiple re-excisions for margin clearance helps optimize cosmetic results in patients undergoing breast conservation surgery. Intra-operative touch preparation cytology (IOTPC) may decrease the need for multiple re-excisions and thereby improve cosmesis. The literature suggests that IOTPC can be useful in evaluation of margins. Klimberg et al. evaluated the touch preparation technique prospectively in 428 patients undergoing breast biopsy for undiagnosed breast masses. Margin evaluation was correct in 100% of the lesions and was used to re-excise the margins when touch prep results were positive. They reported a diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100% for the touch prep technique. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no published data on the role of IOTPC for evaluation of margins in re-excision cases. This report describes our experience with IOTPC for margin assessment for re-excision partial mastectomy at Beth Israel Medical Center (BIMC). The purpose of this study is to determine whether IOTPC is reliable for evaluating margins in patients undergoing re-excision for involved or close margins. Methods A prospective study of 30 patients, who have undergone re-excision partial mastectomy for involved or close margins after breast conservation surgery with the use of IOTPC for margin assessment at BIMC was performed. The re-excision lumpectomy specimens were oriented by the surgeon intra-operatively and were submitted fresh to pathology for cytologic assessment. The touch prep method consisted of touching the corresponding margin onto the glass slide. The principle of this technique is that if cancer cells are present they will stick to the slide, while fat cells will not. A slide was prepared for each re-excision specimen. Air-dried samples were stained immediately using the Diff-Quik method and examined under the microscope by a cytopathologist. Results Thirty patients underwent re-excision lumpectomy for involved or close margins with touch preparation cytology for assessment of 68 margins. Twenty-six patients had invasive ductal carcinoma and/or ductal carcinoma in situ, three patients had invasive lobular carcinoma and the remaining one patient had a combination of invasive lobular and ductal carcinoma. There was a correlation between touch prep cytology and final pathology in 56/68 margins, which accounts for 82.4% of the cases. Conclusion Intra-operative touch preparation cytology for assessment of margins in patients undergoing re-excision lumpectomy for involved or close margins has a sensitivity of 75%, specificity of 82.8%, positive predictive value of 21.4%, and negative predictive value of 98.2%. This high negative predictive value and a single false negative margin are quite significant. Therefore, based on our experience, IOTPC can be a useful tool for intra-operative assessment of margins for patients undergoing re-excision partial mastectomy. Poster presentation at the 28th Annual san Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, December 8–11, 2005, San Antonio, Texas.     

Surgery for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Does It Improve Survival?

Background: The incidence and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are increasing in the United States. Whether surgery is associated with improved survival at the population level is relatively unknown. To address this question, we used a population-based cancer registry to compare survival outcomes between patients receiving and not receiving surgery with similar tumor sizes and health status.Methods: By using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we identified HCC patients who had surgically resectable disease as defined by published expert guidelines. After excluding patients with contraindications to surgery, we performed both survival analysis and Cox regression to identify predictors of improved survival.Results: Of the 4008 patients diagnosed with HCC between 1988 and 1998, 417 were candidates for surgical resection. The mean age was 63.6 years; mean tumor size was 3.3 cm. The 5-year overall survival with surgery was 33% with a mean of 47.1 months; without surgery, the 5-year overall survival was 7% with a mean of 17.9 months (P < .001). In the multivariate Cox regression, surgery was significantly associated with improved survival (P < .001). Specifically, patients who received surgery had a 55% decreased rate of death compared with patients who did not have surgery, even after controlling for tumor size, age, sex, and race.Conclusions: This study shows that surgical therapy is associated with improved survival in patients with unifocal, nonmetastatic HCC tumors <5 cm. If this is confirmed in future studies, efforts should be made to ensure that appropriate patients with resectable HCC receive high-quality care, as well as the opportunity for potentially curative surgery.     

Is Intraoperative Imprint Cytology Evaluation Still Feasible for the Evaluation of Sentinel Lymph Nodes for Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast?

Background  

The evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) from a patient with lobular breast cancer is challenging. Metastatic lobular cancer is difficult to identify in SLNs because of its low-grade cytomorphology and its tendency to resemble lymphocytes. Intraoperative imprint cytology (IIC) is a rapid, reliable method for evaluating SLNs intraoperatively. We sought to reexamine our experience with this technique in the identification of invasive lobular breast cancer SLN metastases.     

The Florid Subtype of Lobular Carcinoma In Situ: Marker or Precursor for Invasive Lobular Carcinoma?

Background

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is considered a risk factor—not a precursor—for both invasive lobular and ductal carcinoma. Florid LCIS (F-LCIS) is an architectural subtype of LCIS that does not express E-cadherin, yet has the histologic and often radiographic appearance of solid-type ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Since DCIS is considered a precursor to invasive ductal carcinoma, should F-LCIS be considered a precursor to invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC)?

Methods

Review of an institutional database identified cases of LCIS and solid-type DCIS diagnosed by excisional biopsy, segmentectomy, or mastectomy between 1991 and 2000 to determine the prevalence of associated invasive breast cancer. Archival specimens were evaluated for florid and nonflorid LCIS, nuclear grade of LCIS, and the presence and subtype of invasive breast cancer. Solid-type DCIS that lacked E-cadherin expression was classified as F-LCIS.

Results

Of 210 consecutive specimens of LCIS examined, 171 had nonflorid LCIS (81%) and 39 had F-LCIS (19%). Nonflorid LCIS had a diffuse pattern, whereas F-LCIS appeared as discrete foci adjacent to ILC. An invasive component was identified with 87% of F-LCIS lesions versus 73% of nonflorid LCIS lesions (P = 0.064); this component was lobular in 100% of F-LCIS lesions versus 82% of nonflorid LCIS lesions, a significant difference (P = 0.0044) that persisted when the analysis was adjusted for nuclear grade (P = 0.0082).

Conclusion

Its close spatial relationship to an invasive component and increased association with ILC suggest that F-LCIS may be a precursor for ILC.

     

Does Arthroscopic Knee Surgery Work?

A recent randomized trial from the Finnish Degenerative Meniscal Lesion Study Group was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and attempted to determine the efficacy of partial meniscectomy without osteoarthritis. Patients were randomized to either arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or sham surgery. The authors concluded that the clinical outcomes after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy were no better than those after the sham surgical procedure. However, there are several important limitations of this trial that make it difficult to generalize to the 700,000 arthroscopic partial meniscectomies performed in the United States each year. In this small sample of 146 patients, patients with traumatic meniscal tears and locking symptoms—those most likely to benefit from a partial meniscectomy—were excluded. In addition, although patients with radiographic arthritis were excluded, most of the patients in the study had degenerative changes at the time of arthroscopy. Therefore it is difficult to determine whether the patients were symptomatic from their chondral degeneration or their degenerative meniscal tear. In our opinion this study does not change the role of surgery in current clinical practice. The primary indication for arthroscopic partial meniscectomy remains symptoms of well-localized joint line pain with acute onset and mechanical symptoms such as catching or locking that have failed comprehensive nonoperative management.     

Core Training in Surgery: What Does It Need to Include?

Core training for surgeons in any surgical specialty should include education in the relevant basic science knowledge, training in fundamental diagnostic skills, the development of surgical technical skills and considerable experience in patient care. However, for a number of reasons it is no longer acceptable to guide such training based only on such broad goals, not the least of which is the advent of resident duty-hour limitations that make it unrealistic to expect residents to simply acquire, by random observation and participation, all of the important elements of their future practices. Rather, it is necessary to provide a curriculum of learning opportunities specifically structured to allow them to gain the requisite knowledge and skills. Thus, the curriculum for the core surgical training of future vascular surgeons should be based on a very specific learning objectives, stating what information is to be learned or what action is to be done, under what conditions they are to be performed, and what criteria will be used to ascertain the acquisition of the necessary knowledge or skill. Next, the best methods of instruction, including reading materials, lectures, and exposure to specific surgical procedures must be defined and the appropriate instructional materials identified, selecting the best of existing materials or, if necessary, creating them. Finally, the residents' acquisition of knowledge and skills must be assessed. Previously this occurred through a loose combination of performance evaluations from clinical rotations, faculty group discussions, and annual in-training exams culminated in the American Board of Surgery certification process. Now evaluation must relate to specific educational objectives. This is all a daunting task currently being undertaken by vascular surgery program directors, albeit with input from the Residency Review Committee and the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery. Eventually, overall surgical curriculum will evolve to satisfy these educational ground rules, but currently it is very much a work in progress in most programs.     

Contrast-Enhanced Intraoperative Ultrasonography During Surgery for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Liver Cirrhosis: Is It Useful or Useless? A Prospective Cohort Study of Our Experience

BACKGROUND: Preliminary results showed that contrast-enhanced intraoperative ultrasonography (CEIOUS) could provide information not obtainable with conventional IOUS during surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the study was to prospectively validate the role of CEIOUS on the basis of a larger experience and to establish a new classification that takes into account its findings. METHODS: Eighty-seven consecutive patients underwent hepatecomies for HCC. Those patients with new lesions at IOUS underwent CEIOUS: for that patients received intravenously 4.8 mL sulphurhexafluoride microbubbles. Pattern of enhancement was classified in 4 categories: A1 (full enhancement in the arterial phase and wash-out in the delayed phases), A2 (intralesional signs of neovascularization during all phases), A3 (no nodular enhancement but detectability during the liver enhancement), and B (undetectability during the liver enhancement). Resection was recommended for A1-3 nodules and no treatment for B nodules. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (33%) had 59 new lesions at IOUS and underwent CEIOUS. Twenty-seven nodules showed a B pattern at CEIOUS and were not removed; 32 nodules were classified as A1 in 5 patients, A2 in 11 patients, and A3 in 16 patients. The nodules were removed, and by histology, five A1, nine A2, and six A3 nodules were confirmed to be HCC. CEIOUS modified the operative decision making in 79% of these patients. CONCLUSIONS: CEIOUS is useful during surgery for HCC; it complements the accuracy of IOUS and affects the radicalness of the surgical. Specificity of CEIOUS has to be further improved, although intrinsic drawbacks exist in the diagnostic criterion of tumor vascularity.     

Reducing Emboli in Cardiac Surgery: Does It Make a Difference?

Particulate embolization remains a serious complication of cardiac surgery. Adverse events associated with particulate embolization affect patient morbidity and long-term survival, and increase the length of hospital stay and the cost of health care. Today, atherosclerosis plays a role in at least two-thirds of all adverse events after coronary artery revascularization, and postoperative stroke is the second most common cause of operative mortality. Because many lower-risk patients now undergo interventional revascularization, higher-risk patients are now typically referred for surgical revascularization. These patients are older and sicker, and have multiple comorbidities, making them more susceptible to adverse events. For these high-risk patients, surgeons should be proactive in attempting to reduce the possibility of emboli. Patients must be carefully assessed before surgery to determine their risk, and if the risk is high, surgeons should consider using newer, innovative devices, and techniques in their operative strategy that have proven to be effective in mitigating some of the potential embolic adverse events. A multifaceted, preventive strategy can make a difference, not only in reducing particulate emboli, but also in reducing morbidity and in lowering the economic burden on the health-care system. This brief review will address three areas of focus that are important for the prevention of particulate embolization: (i) prevalence and morbidity of atherosclerotic disease; (ii) risk factors for adverse neurologic events; and (iii) prevention/mitigation of adverse events for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.     

Radiologic Assessment of the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract: Does It Play an Important Preoperative Role in Bariatric Surgery?

Background: The role of upper GI series (UGIS) before bariatric surgery is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield and cost of routine UGIS prior to bariatric surgery. Methods: The medical records of consecutive obese patients who underwent UGIS before bariatric surgery between April 2001 and October 2002 were reviewed. UGIS reports were reviewed by 2 experienced gastroenterologists, and the findings were divided into 4 groups based on predetermined criteria: group 0 (normal study), group 1 (abnormal findings that neither changed the surgical approach nor postponed surgery), group 2 (abnormal findings that changed the surgical approach or postponed surgery), and group 3 (results which were an absolute contraindication to surgery). Clinically important findings included lesions in groups 2 and 3. The cost of an upper GI series ($154.80) was estimated from the published 2002 New York State Medicare reimbursement schedule. Results: During the 18-month study period, 171 patients were evaluated by UGIS prior to bariatric surgery. One or more lesions were identified in 48.0% of patients, with only 5.3% having clinically important findings. The prevalence of radiologic findings using the classification system above was as follows: group 0 (52.0%), group 1 (42.7%), group 2 (5.3%), and group 3 (0.0%). The most common findings identified were esophageal reflux (21.6%) and hiatal hernias (18.7%). The cost of performing routine UGIS on all patients before bariatric surgery was $2,941.20 per clinically important finding detected. Conclusions: Routine preoperative upper GI series before bariatric surgery had a low diagnostic yield, rarely revealing pathology that changed the surgical approach or postponed surgery.     

Is There a Role for Oncotype Dx Testing in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma?

Oncotype Dx Breast Cancer Assay is a 21‐gene assay used in estrogen receptor (ER)‐positive breast cancer to predict benefit from chemotherapy (CT). Tumors are placed into one of three risk categories based on their recurrence score (RS). This paper explores the impact of tumor histopathologic features and Oncotype Dx RS on the treatment plan for invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). Invasive lobular carcinoma cases submitted for Oncotype Dx testing were identified from a clinical data base. The histopathologic and immunohistochemical features and RS subcategory of each tumor, and treatment regimen and medical oncologic assessments of each patient were reviewed. A total of 135 cases of ILC had RS testing, which represented 15% of all ILC diagnosed at the institution over the time period. 80% of ILC was of the classical subtype and all tumors were ER positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER‐2) negative by immunohistochemistry. Sixty three percent of cases were low risk (LR), 35.5% were intermediate risk (IR) and 1.5% were high risk (HR). Both HR cases were pleomorphic ILC. Sixty eight percent of classical ILC had a LR score, while 70% of pleomorphic ILC had an IR score. Patients in the IR category were significantly more likely to undergo CT than patients in the LR category (54% versus 18%; p < 0.0001). In the LR category, those undergoing CT were significantly younger and more likely to have positive lymph nodes (p < 0.05). Qualitative analysis of medical oncologic assessments showed that RS played a role in decision‐making on CT in 74% of cases overall. At our institution, Oncotype Dx RS currently plays a role in the management of a proportion of ILC and impacts on treatment decisions.     

Interval Between Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy and Surgery for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Does Delayed Surgery Impact Outcome?

Background

Although esophagectomy traditionally is recommended to perform within 8 weeks after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT), data from neoadjuvantly treated rectal cancer patients demonstrate that delayed surgery (>8 weeks) can maximize the effect of CRT. Despite these promising data, investigators are concerned that delayed surgery may lead to tumor repopulation. We report the impact of delayed surgery in patients with esophageal cancer who were treated with nCRT.

Methods

We retrospectively studied 276 esophageal cancer patients treated with nCRT and surgery between 2002 and 2008. We compared perioperative complication, rate of pathological complete response (pCR), distribution of tumor regression grade (TRG), and overall survival (OS) in patients who underwent surgery within 8 weeks (group A) and after 8 weeks (group B) after nCRT.

Results

There were 138 patients in each group with similar pre/post-nCRT characteristics. Delayed surgery did not result in lower surgical risk or higher pCR rate. Survival outcome also did not improve following a longer surgery interval (5-year OS: group A vs. group B, 29 vs. 23 %; P = 0.3). On the contrary, a subgroup analysis showed that delayed surgery might be hazardous, especially in patients who demonstrate a good response after nCRT. The amount of residual cancer, as measured by TRG, increased significantly after a longer surgical interval (P = 0.024). Survival also decreased after a longer surgical interval (5-year OS ≤8 vs. >8 weeks, 50 vs. 35 %; P = 0.038).

Conclusions

After nCRT, esophagectomy should be performed within 8 weeks, especially in patients with good response.     

Breast MRI in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: A Useful Investigation in Surgical Planning?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is highly sensitive in detecting invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast. In our institution, patients who are deemed to be suitable for breast conserving surgery (BCS) with unifocal small ILC on standard imaging are offered breast MRI to exclude multifocal and larger ILC. Our study investigates the usefulness of breast MRI in ILC. A prospective cohort study over a 58‐month period, including all consecutive patients with ILC having breast MRI. Primary objective was to find out the proportion of ILC patients where preoperative MRI caused a change in the surgical treatment. Secondary objectives included finding mastectomy rate (initial & final), re‐operation rate, cancer size correlation with different imaging modalities and final histopatholgy, loco‐regional recurrence and disease‐free survival. A total of 334 bilateral breast MRI were performed including 72 (21.5%) MRI for ILC patients. All these MRI were carried out within 2 week of patients given the diagnosis (median 5.5 days). Age range was 24–83 (median 56.5) years. Nineteen of 72 ILC patients (26.4%) had a change in their planned operation from BCS to a different operation owing to MRI findings (seven patients with multifocal cancers, 10 with significantly larger size of the cancer and two with contralateral malignancy). Initial mastectomy rate was 31.9%, final mastectomy rate was 36.1% and re‐operation rate in BCS group was 18.3%. MRI correlated better with ILC histopathology cancer size than mammogram and ultrasound scans. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.999) between the cancer size on histology (median 23 mm) and MRI (median 25 mm). However, mammogram (median 17 mm) and ultrasound (median 14.5 mm) scans showed cancer sizes significantly different to final histology cancer size (p = 0.0008 and p = 0.0021 respectively). Over a 44 months median follow‐up (range 27–85), 95.8% disease‐free survival and 98.6% overall survival have been observed. One out of every four patients (26.4%) with ILC had a change in their planned operation due to MRI findings. A relatively high disease‐free survival over a medium‐term follow‐up proves the oncological safety of MRI in ILC. Our study provides evidence in support of the targeted use of preoperative breast MRI among patients with ILC to improve surgical planning.     

Morbid Obesity and Sleeve Gastrectomy: How Does It Work?

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is known to be a safe and effective procedure for treating morbid obesity and is performed with increasing frequency both in Europe and the USA. Despite its broad use, many questions about the remaining gastric tube diameter, its long-term efficacy, its effects on gastric emptying, and the hormones involved still remain to be answered. In order to use such a relatively new surgical procedure wisely, it is essential for every surgeon and physician to understand how sleeve gastrectomy acts in obesity and what its potential benefits on the patients’ metabolism are. This review focuses on the most important pathophysiologic questions referred to sleeve gastrectomy on the literature so far, in an attempt to evaluate the different issues still pending on the subject.