PURPOSE:

To assess the diagnostic performance of postoperative ultrasound (US) surveillance for the detection of malignant lesions and to evaluate the clinical role of US in the postoperative surveillance of patients with breast cancer history.

METHODS:

We studied a total of 390 patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer between January 2000 and December 2002, 286 mastectomy patients, 103 breast conservation surgery (BCS) patients, and one with both mastectomy and BCS. A total of 4,081 US examinations by December 2010 were reviewed. The final diagnosis for final-positive lesions was based on cytopathology results, clinical follow-up, and imaging studies. Diagnostic performances for detecting final-positive lesions were assessed. We also compared the frequency of distant metastases in patients with final-positive findings and those without. The overall survival was estimated.

RESULTS:

Among 2,925 examinations in 287 patients with mastectomy, there were 85 US-positive and 23 final-positive lesions (27 %) in 20 patients at final diagnosis. Among 1,171 examinations in 104 BCS patients, there were 32 US-positive and five final-positive (15.6 %) findings in four patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and accuracy of US for final-positive lesions after breast cancer surgery were 95.8,97.8, 27.1, and 97.9 % in mastectomy patients and 42.9, 97.5, 9.4, and 97.2 % in BCS patients. Among mastectomy patients, patients with final-positive findings had a higher incidence of distant metastasis than patients without final-positive findings (31.6 vs. 9.3 %, p = 0.01). Among BCS patients, there was no distant metastasis. Among mastectomy patients, the overall survival was not significantly different between patients with only final-positive findings and in patients with final-positive findings and distant metastasis (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

Postoperative US had a high sensitivity for the detection of malignant lesions in the breast and the regional area, which can be a predictor of distant metastasis in mastectomy patients; however, the role of postoperative US in the detection of malignant lesions in BCS patients is unclear.

BACKGROUND:

Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is recommended for patients with clinically node-positive breast cancer and carries a risk of lymphedema >30 %. Patients with node-positive breast cancer may consider neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which can reduce node positivity. We sought to determine if neoadjuvant chemotherapy reduced the risk of lymphedema in patients undergoing ALND for node-positive breast cancer.

METHODS:

The 229 patients who underwent unilateral ALND and chemotherapy were divided into two groups: 30 % (68/229) had neoadjuvant and 70 % (161/229) had adjuvant chemotherapy. Prospective arm volumes were measured via perometry preoperatively and at 3- to 7-month intervals after surgery. Lymphedema was defined as relative volume change (RVC) ≥10 %, >3 months from surgery. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate regression models were used to identify risk factors for lymphedema.

RESULTS:

Fifteen percent (10/68) of neoadjuvant patients compared with 23 % (37/161) of adjuvant patients developed RVC ≥10 % (hazard ratio = 0.76, p = 0.39). For all patients, body mass index was significantly associated with lymphedema (p = 0.0003). For neoadjuvant patients, residual lymph node disease after chemotherapy was associated with a ninefold greater risk of lymphedema compared to those without residual disease (p = 0.038).

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not have a statistically significant reduction in risk of lymphedema. Among patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, residual lymph node disease predicted a greater risk of lymphedema. These patients should be closely monitored for lymphedema and possible early intervention for the condition.

BACKGROUND:

Conflicting data exist regarding optimum local therapy for early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We examined outcomes according to local treatment type in a large cohort of node-negative TNBC patients.

METHODS:

A total of 1,242 consecutive patients with TNBC treated at a single institution from 1999 to 2008 were identified. Of these, 646 with pathologic stage T1-2N0 TNBC underwent breast-conserving therapy (BCT) (N = 448) or total mastectomy (TM) without postmastectomy radiation (N = 198) and comprised the study population. Locoregional recurrence (LRR), distant metastasis (DM), and overall recurrence were investigated with a competing risk analysis using Gray's test and multivariable Fine and Gray competing risk regression. Overall survival was assessed using standard Kaplan-Meier methods and a Cox proportional hazards analysis.

RESULTS:

Median follow-up was 78.3 months (range 1-156). Eight-one percent of patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. TM patients were younger, were more likely to have lymphovascular invasion, and had larger tumors than patients undergoing BCT (all P ≤ 0.05). The 5-year cumulative incidence of LRR was 4.2 and 5.4 % for patients undergoing BCT and TM, respectively. There was no significant difference in LRR, DM, overall recurrence, disease free survival, or overall survival between groups on univariate analysis, or after adjusting for other variables in multivariate models. Lack of chemotherapy and high tumor stage independently predicted for decreased overall survival (both P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

A low, 5-year risk of LRR (4.7 %) was achieved in a large group of women with T1-2N0 TNBC treated with multimodality therapy. BCT was as equally effective as TM for local and distant control.

BACKGROUND:

mTHPC-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) is used for treatment of early head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. This study is a retrospective comparison of PDT with transoral surgery in the treatment of early primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity/oropharynx.

METHODS:

PDT data were retrieved from four study databases; surgical results were retrieved from our institutional database. To select similar primary tumors, infiltration depth was restricted to 5 mm for the surgery group. A total of 126 T1 and 30 T2 tumors were included in the PDT group, and 58 T1 and 33 T2 tumors were included in the surgically treated group.

RESULTS:

Complete response rates with PDT and surgery were 86 and 76 % for T1, respectively, and for T2 63 and 78 %. Lower local disease-free survival for PDT compared to surgery was found. However, when comparing the need for local retreatment, no significant difference for T1 tumors was found, while for T2 tumors surgery resulted in significantly less need for local retreatment. No significant differences in overall survival between surgery and PDT were observed.

CONCLUSIONS:

PDT for T1 tumors results in a similar need for retreatment compared to surgery, while for T2 tumors PDT performs worse. Local disease-free survival for surgery is better than for PDT. This may be influenced by the benefit surgery has of having histology available. This allows an early decision on reintervention, while for PDT one has to follow a wait-and-see policy. Future prospective studies should compare efficacy as well as morbidity.

BACKGROUND:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pathological and oncological significance of Gleason (G) 5 pattern in high-grade PCa after robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

From a cohort of 1,046 men, 159 post-RARP patients by a single surgeon with pathological G8 (N = 79) and G9 (N = 80) met our inclusion criteria. G9 cancers were sub-stratified into G4+5 (N = 58) and G5+4 (N = 22). Clinical and pathological outcomes were evaluated with the t test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and the Pearson χ (2) test for categorical variables. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the biochemical recurrence-free survival (BCRFS), and survival curves were compared using the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed with Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS:

Baseline characteristics across all subgroups were similar except for number of positive cores on biopsy. There was a trend toward worse pathological and oncological outcomes in G9 cancers when compared with G8, although only tumor volume (TV), extracapsular extension (ECE) of tumor and lymph nodes involvement (LNI) achieved statistical significance. G4+5 PCa were statistically more likely to have ECE and a higher TV than G4+4 although the BCRFS were not significantly different. G5+4 cancers were associated with a significantly higher proportion of patients with LNI and had a statistically significant poorer BCRFS compared with G4+5 patients.

CONCLUSIONS:

Oncological and pathological outcomes of G8 were significantly better than G9 and merited distinction between them. G5+4 harbors a much poorer BCRFS compared with G4+5, and hence we suggest considerations for immediate adjuvant treatments.

BACKGROUND:

The presence of nodal skip metastasis (NSM) has been found to be of clinical importance in non-small cell lung cancer, but the study of this phenomenon in esophageal carcinoma is relatively rare. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors influencing NSM and to assess its prognostic value in thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS:

A total of 207 patients with thoracic ESCC who underwent three-field lymphadenectomy and who had lymph node metastasis were reviewed. Associations of NSM occurrence with the clinicopathological characteristics of patients and primary tumors were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. The influence of NSM on the overall survival (OS) was assessed by log-rank tests and Cox regression analysis.

RESULTS:

NSM were present in 58 (26 %) patients. No factor was significantly associated with the incidence of NSM except for the location of primary tumor. There were no NSMs in the 29 patients from our study with upper thoracic ESCC, and the rates of tumors occurrence in the middle and lower third of the esophagus were 38.9 and 14.9 %, respectively. The median OS was 30 months, and no significant difference in OS was found between the patients with or without NSM (p = 0.767). Only N status was found to be the independent risk factor for OS by Cox multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS:

NSM is common in thoracic ESCC, especially in patients with tumors located in the middle and lower third of the esophagus. However, the presence of NSM did not predict prognosis.

INTRODUCTION:

Breast conservation surgery (BCS) results in survival equal to mastectomy for early-stage breast cancer. Ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) after BCS is thought to be related to margin status. At our institution, reexcision is performed only if tumor is at inked margin or with extensive disease close to multiple margins. The purpose of this study was to determine rates of reexcision and recurrences among BCS patients using this policy.

METHODS:

We performed an institutional review board-approved retrospective analysis of BCS patients who underwent surgery between January 2001 and June 2005. We identified patients who had a second breast excision within 8 weeks of the first, and those patients with an IBTR. Clinical and pathologic features of patients' tumors were reviewed.

RESULTS:

We identified 543 patients who underwent BCS, 84 patients (15.5 %) underwent reexcision for margin status. The crude IBTR rate was 3.4 %, and the 5-year local recurrence-free survival of the reexcised group was 90.6 % compared with 97.4 % in the non-reexcised group (p = 0.0097). Of the 64 reexcision patients, 6 (9.4 %) had an IBTR versus 12 (2.6 %) of the 459 non-reexcised patients (p = 0.0151).

DISCUSSION:

Our reexcision rate is low compared with other reports. This results from a policy that defines "no tumor on ink" as an adequate margin for BCS, and the use of selective irradiation boosts based on margins assessed by our pathologists. Our local recurrence rate compares favorably with those seen in other studies while minimizing the need for additional operations. A higher IBTR rate after reexcision likely reflects tumor biology.