Ultrasonographic findings of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast: correlation between internal echogenicity and histological findings

Background

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast (IMPC) has been considered to have no specific image finding. The purpose of this study was to correlate the ultrasonographic findings of IMPC, especially internal echogenicity, with histological findings and to discuss the histological factor that influenced the internal echogenicity.

Methods

Six patients who had undergone surgery at our institute between October 2005 and February 2010 and had been subsequently diagnosed with IMPC were enrolled in this study. Internal echogenicities were correlated with the presence or absence of the central lumens within tumor cell clusters, and with the size of the spaces around these tumor cells.

Results

The internal echogenicities of three IMPCs were isoechoic compared with subcutaneous fat tissue, and those of the other three IMPCs were hypoechoic. All three isoechoic IMPCs had central lumens, while no central lumen was seen in the three hypoechoic IMPCs. There was no relation between the size of spaces around the tumor cells and internal echogenicity. All tumors showed either posterior enhancement or no posterior acoustic feature.

Conclusions

Half of the IMPCs in our study showed isoechogenicity on ultrasonography. The existence of a central lumen in the tumor cell clusters might have contributed to relatively high internal echogenicity of these IMPCs.     

Gold nanoparticles in breast cancer treatment: Promise and potential pitfalls

Despite remarkable achievements in the treatment of breast cancer, some obstacles still remain. Gold nanoparticles may prove valuable in addressing these problems owing to their unique characteristics, including their enhanced permeability and retention in tumor tissue, their light absorbance and surface plasmon resonance in near-infrared light, their interaction with radiation to generate secondary electrons, and their ability to be conjugated with drugs or other agents. Herein, we discuss some basic concepts of gold nanoparticles, and early results from studies regarding their use in breast cancer, including toxicity and side effects. We also discuss these particles’ potential clinical applications.     

False-negative core needle biopsies of the breast: an analysis of clinical,radiologic, and pathologic findings in 27 concecutive cases of missed breast cancer

BACKGROUND: A benign diagnosis in a core needle biopsy (CNBx) of the breast performed for a clinically and/or radiologically suspicious abnormality is often due to a nonrepresentative sample. However, the discordance may not be recognized, resulting in a logistic delay in the diagnosis. METHODS: Twenty-seven false-negative CNBxs were identified in 952 consecutive CNBxs of the breast (653 benign, 266 malignant, and 33 atypical) performed during a 1-year period. Biopsies were analyzed with respect to clinical and radiologic findings, biopsy type, type of malignancy, and interval between the original CNBx and final diagnosis. Four hundred thirty-eight (67%) of the patients with a benign CNBx diagnosis either underwent excision or had a minimum of 1-year follow-up (mean, 35.6 months; median, 36 months). RESULTS: The cancers missed on CNBx included 6 ductal carcinomas in situ, 17 invasive ductal carcinomas, 3 invasive lobular carcinomas, and 1 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The overall false-negative rate was 9.1%. For palpable lesions, ultrasound-guided CNBx had a lower rate of missed cancer (3.6%) compared with CNBx without image guidance (13.3%). The false-negative rate for vacuum assisted CNBx biopsy was 7.6% (3.3% for the 11-gauge needle, 22.2% for the 14-gauge needle; 5.6% for nonpalpable mass lesions, 8.2% for microcalcifications). In all seven false-negative CNBxs performed by radiologists, the discordance between the radiologic and pathologic findings was promptly recognized due to their standard follow-up protocol. The discordance between the degree of clinical suspicion, radiologic impression, and the pathologic findings was not immediately recognized in 5 of 20 false-negative CNBxs performed by surgeons (4 without radiologic guidance and 1 with ultrasound guidance), resulting in a delay in the diagnosis ranging from 112-336 days. CONCLUSIONS: A false-negative diagnosis of breast carcinoma was found to be more common in CNBx performed without image guidance but occurred to a lesser degree in image-guided biopsies. A delay in diagnosis can be avoided by establishing a standard post-CNBx follow-up protocol.     

Legal pitfalls in the diagnosis and management of breast cancer

The situations most likely to result in litigation are identified and the best means of avoiding each are discussed. Also included is a brief summary of some malpractice law doctrine.     

Body fat distribution and breast cancer risk: findings from the Nigerian breast cancer study

Purpose  

The relationship between overall obesity and breast cancer risk has been well recognized, but the role of central obesity in breast cancer development is uncertain.     

Zoledronic acid in breast cancer: latest findings and interpretations

The intravenous nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate zoledronic acid has been shown to block multiple steps in tumor metastasis (e.g. angiogenesis, invasion, adhesion, proliferation) in preclinical and translational studies. Moreover, clinical data from the ABCSG-12 and ZO-FAST trials demonstrate significantly improved disease-free survival with zoledronic acid in the adjuvant breast cancer setting. In contrast to these two trials, recent interim results from the AZURE trial do not show a benefit from adding zoledronic acid to adjuvant therapy in the overall patient population. However, subset analyses of AZURE data show that zoledronic acid significantly improved overall survival in women who were more than 5 years postmenopausal or older than 60 years at baseline. Similarly, subset analyses of the ABCSG-12 trial data demonstrate greater benefits from zoledronic acid treatment in patients who theoretically would have achieved more complete ovarian suppression. These observations, together with the AZURE postmenopausal data, suggest that the endocrine environment may affect the potential anticancer activity of zoledronic acid. Indeed, current data support the possibility that zoledronic acid might be most effective for improving disease-free survival in the adjuvant breast cancer setting in women who are postmenopausal or have endocrine therapy-induced menopause.     

Potential pitfalls of crossover and thoughts on iniparib in triple-negative breast cancer

As recruitment for oncology clinical trials has become more difficult, there appears to have been an increase in the number of studies that allow patients in the control arm to "crossover" and receive the experimental therapy after disease progression. Although some researchers worry that allowing such crossover may abolish gains in progression-free survival in the experimental arm, the possibility that crossover might inadvertently benefit the experimental arm has not been addressed. In clinical trials in which the experimental agent has little or no intrinsic activity and is used to modulate an active combination, such crossover might negatively affect the overall survival of the control arm. Because resistance to the active combination--manifested as disease progression--has occurred, the likelihood of benefit from adding the experimental drug is reduced. Consequently, patients who were randomly assigned to the control arm continue to receive the now inactive combination after crossover, whereas patients in the experimental arm who discontinue study participation may seek out potentially effective salvage regimens. This difference in subsequent therapies may confer an advantage to the experimental arm that is manifested as gains beyond those achieved in progression-free survival, gains that occur not because the experimental therapy induced a change in tumor biology that persists beyond treatment discontinuation but because the control arm suffers by continuing to receive a therapy on which their tumor is progressing. Such an outcome may explain the recently reported trial results for iniparib in triple-negative breast cancer. Given that allowing patients in the control arm to receive the experimental agent may confound interpretation of overall survival, such crossover should not be used indiscriminately, especially if the experimental agent has little or no intrinsic activity.     

Angiosarcoma after breast conservation: diagnostic pitfalls

Angiosarcomas are aggressive tumors of endovascular origin. Although angiosarcomas are relatively rare, they are being reported with increasing frequency in patients who have previously undergone breast conserving therapy. The initial clinical presentation of angiosarcomas after breast irradiation is often similar to the presentation of recurrent breast carcinomas. In addition, the histologic and cytologic appearance of posttreatment angiosarcomas can be highly suggestive of recurrent breast carcinoma. Immunohistochemical stains are often required to make an accurate distinction between the 2 entities. An accurate diagnosis is essential, because prognosis and treatment are different for each condition. An early and accurate diagnosis is aided by a high index of suspicion by clinician and pathologist. Herein, a case history is presented that underscores the pitfalls in attempting to achieve an accurate diagnosis.     

Employment and cancer: findings from a longitudinal study of breast and prostate cancer survivors

We discuss how cancer affected the employment of almost 800 employed patients who participated in a longitudinal study. The greatest reduction in patients' labor supply (defined as employment and weekly hours worked) was observed 6 months following diagnosis. At 12 and 18 months following diagnosis, many patients returned to work. Based on these and other findings related to patients' employment situations, we suggest 4 areas for future research: 1) collection of employment information in cancer studies; 2) research into racial and ethnic minority patients and employment outcomes; 3) interventions to reduce the effects of cancer and its treatment on employment; and 4) investigations into the influence of employment-contingent health insurance on cancer treatment and recovery.     

Ultrasonographic assessment of breast density

Ultrasonographic (US) assessment of breast density has the potential to provide a nonionizing method. This study was to prospectively evaluate intermodality and interobserver agreements for assessment of breast density between US and mammography. Institutional review board approval was obtained. Forty-one women (mean 52.1 years; range 25–72 years) with variable breast density consented to participate. Eight radiologists blinded to mammographic information performed breast US for all participants and assessed each breast density using four categories based on the proportion of the breast occupied by the fibroglandular tissue. All participants underwent full-field digital mammography and mammographic density was independently assessed by eight radiologists 2 weeks after US using the breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) 4-category system. Intermodality agreements between US and mammographic assessments and interobserver agreements among radiologists were assessed using kappa statistics (к) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). There was substantial intermodality agreement between the US and mammographic assessments of breast density (к = 0.65 and ICC = 0.80), and 68 % (222/328) of the assessments had exact agreement. When categories were dichotomized into fatty (categories 1 and 2) and dense (categories 3 and 4), 86 % (282/328) of the assessments had exact agreement (к = 0.71). The interobserver agreement for the US assessments of breast density was substantial (average к = 0.63, ICC = 0.82) and not significantly different from that for the mammographic assessments (average к = 0.74, ICC = 0.85) (P = 0.701). US and mammography demonstrated substantial intermodality and interobserver agreement for assessment of breast density.     

Meeting the physical activity guidelines and survival after breast cancer: findings from the after breast cancer pooling project

The 2008 Physical Activity (PA) Guidelines recommend engaging in at least 2.5 h (10 MET-hours/week) of moderate intensity PA per week (defined as 4 METs) to reduce risk of morbidity and mortality. This analysis was conducted to investigate whether this recommendation can be extended to breast cancer survivors. Data from four studies of breast cancer survivors measuring recreational PA from semi-quantitative questionnaires a median of 23 months post-diagnosis (interquartile range 18-32 months) were pooled in the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project (n = 13,302). Delayed entry Cox proportional hazards models were applied in data analysis with adjustment for age, post-diagnosis body mass index, race/ethnicity, menopausal status, TNM stage, cancer treatment, and smoking history. Engaging in at least 10 MET-hours/week of PA was associated with a 27% reduction in all-cause mortality (n = 1,468 events, Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.73, 95% CI, 0.66-0.82) and a 25% reduction in breast cancer mortality (n = 971 events, HR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.65-0.85) compared with women who did not meet the PA Guidelines (<10 MET-hours/week). Risk of breast cancer recurrence (n = 1,421 events) was not associated with meeting the PA Guidelines (HR = 0.96, 95% CI, 0.86-1.06). These data suggest that adhering to the PA guidelines may be an important intervention target for reducing mortality among breast cancer survivors.     

One-stop diagnostic breast clinics: how often are breast cancers missed?

The aim of this study was to estimate the number of patients discharged from a symptomatic breast clinic who subsequently develop breast cancer and to determine how many of these cancers had been ‘missed'' at initial assessment. Over a 3-year period, 7004 patients were discharged with a nonmalignant diagnosis. Twenty-nine patients were subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer over the next 36 months. This equates to a symptomatic ‘interval'' cancer rate of 4.1 per 1000 women in the 36 months after initial assessment (0.9 per 1000 women within 12 months, 2.6 per 1000 women within 24 months). The lowest sensitivity of initial assessment was seen in patients of 40–49 years of age, and these patients present the greatest imaging and diagnostic challenge. Following multidisciplinary review, a consensus was reached on whether a cancer had been missed or not. No delay occurred in 10 patients (35%) and probably no delay in 7 patients (24%). Possible delay occurred in three patients (10%) and definite delay in diagnosis (i.e., a ‘missed'' cancer) occurred in only nine patients (31%). The overall diagnostic accuracy of ‘triple'' assessment is 99.6% and the ‘missed'' cancer rate is 1.7 per 1000 women discharged.