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Background: Women with early stage disease not only have a better prognosis, but also have the opportunity to preserve their breasts. Despite the positive evidence and outcomes for breast-conserving therapy (BCT), many women are unable or unwilling to undergo 5-7 weeks of external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT). We report the results of a single-institution phase II trial of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using a single dose of intraoperative electron radiotherapy (IOERT) in patients with low risk early stage breast cancer. Methods and materials: From July 2006 to December 2009, 226 patients suitable for BCT were enrolled in a phase II trial with IOERT as radical treatment immediately after surgical resection. All patients had biopsy proven cancer. After the surgeon temporarily reapproximated the excision cavity, a dose of 21 Gy using IOERT was delivered to the tumor bed with a margin of 2 cm laterally. Results: No acute reactions were reported after irradiation. Three patients experienced a transient edema. In 7 others a haematoma was observed. No cases of liponecrosis were observed. With a mean follow-up of 49 months (range 31-66 months), only one case of local recurrence has been reported. The observed toxicity was considered acceptable. As to cosmetic results, at 6 months after the end of IORT, 71/226 patients (31.4.%) had a score of 2 for symmetry and contour (asymmetry exhibited by 1/3 or less of volume breast), while 19/226 (8.4%) had a score 3 (asymmetry greater than 1/3 of breast volume). These findings remained unchanged at the following examinations. No breast oedema, discoloration at site or scar prominence were observed. Discussion: IOERT has significant advantages compared to other post-operative APBI approaches. The surgical re-approximation of the tumor bed, combined with the high quality of electron beam radiation, generates substantially more uniform dose distributions. IOERT offers the advantage of an excellent delineation of the tumor bed under visual control and high sparing of normal tissue, including the skin. IOERT delivers a very high biologically dose at the time of the surgery, when residual tumor cells are more rapidly proliferating. IOERT is insensitive to chemotherapy sequencing since all of the radiation is given during the surgery. IOERT offers low-risk women the possibility of a one-day procedure to treat their cancer and preserve their breast. The results of our study are very encouraging compared with other series with IOERT or APBI. The absolute recurrence rate of 0.4% and the recurrence rate per year of 0.2% of the present study are lower compared to the ones from the largest series with IOERT ever published (3.6% and 1.2%, respectively) (1). Conclusion: APBI using a single dose of IOERT can be delivered safely in women with early, low risk breast cancer. A longer follow-up is needed to ascertain its efficacy compared to that of the current standard treatment of whole breast irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The acellular dermal matrix (ADM)-assisted breast reconstruction technique is widely known, but discouraging results due to early postoperative complications have been reported. As the literature identifies seroma as the most common issue after breast surgery without identifying its pathogenesis, we aimed to report the trend of postoperative daily serum collection after ADM-assisted breast reconstruction and compare it with data in the literature in order to discover more about this little-known topic., Methods: A retrospective study on 28 consecutive patients who received ADM-assisted breast reconstruction between February 2013 and February 2014 was performed. In order to reduce the number of variables that could affect serum production, only one brand of ADM was used and all tissues were handled gently and precisely. The daily drainage volume was recorded per patient during the first four days of hospitalization. Likewise, postoperative complications were noted during routine follow-up., Results: In total, five (17.9%) bilateral and 23 (82.1%) unilateral ADM-assisted breast reconstructions (33 implants) were performed. The mean age, body mass index, and length of hospital stay were 53.6 years, 21.3 kg/m(2), and 4.5 days, respectively. One major complication led to implant loss (3.0%), and nine minor complications were successfully treated with ambulatory surgery (27.3%). Serum collection linearly decreased after 24 hours postoperatively., Conclusions: Daily drainage decreased following the theoretical decline of acute inflammation. In concordance with the literature, daily serum production may not be related to the use of ADM.

Background: We report the results of a single-institution, phase II trial of accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using a single dose of intraoperative electron radiation therapy (IOERT) in patients with low-risk early stage breast cancer., Methods and Materials: A cohort of 226 patients with low-risk, early stage breast cancer were treated with local excision and axillary management (sentinel node biopsy with or without axillary node dissection). After the surgeon temporarily reapproximated the excision cavity, a dose of 21 Gy using IOERT was delivered to the tumor bed, with a margin of 2 cm laterally., Results: With a mean follow-up of 46 months (range, 28-63 months), only 1 case of local recurrence was reported. The observed toxicity was considered acceptable., Conclusions: APBI using a single dose of IOERT can be delivered safely in women with early, low-risk breast cancer in carefully selected patients. A longer follow-up is needed to ascertain its efficacy compared to that of the current standard treatment of whole-breast irradiation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The clinical significance and management (surgical excision vs. follow-up) of the patients with the diagnosis of flat epithelial atypia (FEA) on core needle biopsy (CNB) are actually under discussion. Using standardized criteria and precise terminology, we analyzed retrospectively our CNB diagnosis of FEA, dividing patients with pure FEA as the most advanced pathologic lesion from patients with FEA associated to atypical ductal hyperplasia (FEA+ADH). Both the categories were correlated with radiologic data and findings on subsequent surgery. We evaluated 875 core needle biopsies (11-gauge stereotactic vacuum-assisted procedure), performed over a 5-year period. A CNB diagnosis of pure FEA was made in 33/875 (3.7%) cases; in other 11 (1.2%) cases we observed the coexistence of FEA and ADH. Subsequent surgical excisions were available in 20/33 pure FEA and in 10/11 FEA+ADH: of the 20 patients with pure FEA on CNB, none had either ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive carcinoma in their excisional biopsy, whereas 3/10 (30%) FEA+ADH on CNB showed, at subsequent surgery, more advanced lesions (2 ductal carcinoma in situ, 1 invasive carcinoma). Our results suggest that patients with an 11-gauge vacuum-assisted CNB diagnosis of pure FEA (especially if related to a small radiologic target, completely or almost completely removed by the needle biopsy procedure) could be spared surgical excision and managed with close radiologic follow-up.

Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISM) of the breast was controversial, because of the relevant morbidity incurred by the procedure and the low incidence of axillary involvement. The introduction of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy as a minimally invasive procedure for axillary staging has prompted new interest in this issue. However, as DCISM is a rare type of cancer, data on the incidence of SLN metastasis are scarce. The aim of the present paper was therefore to assess the prevalence of SLN metastasis in a multi-institutional series of DCISM patients, in order to ascertain whether SLN biopsy might be justified as a standard procedure in the presence of microinvasive cancer. Between 1999 and 2004, 43 patients with a diagnosis of DCISM underwent SLN biopsy. Microinvasion was defined as one or more foci of invasion beyond the basal membrane, none exceeding 1mm. SLNs were examined following haematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical staining. SLN metastases were found in four out of 43 cases (9.3%). In one patient, SLN contained only micrometastasis. All four patients with positive SLN underwent complete ALND and in all these cases further metastatic axillary nodes were found. In conclusion, given the relevant incidence of nodal metastases and the low morbidity of the procedure, we believe that SLN biopsy should be considered in all patients with a diagnosis of DCISM. In cases of SLN involvement, even if micrometastatic, our policy is to perform a complete ALND.

Sentinel lymph-node biopsy for breast cancer has been rapidly adopted in clinical practice. At the present time few prospective randomised studies exist, the false negative rate is variable and its role with regard to prognosis is not well known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the elements of sentinel lymph-node biopsy that have yet to be clearly defined, by reference to the literature and our own experience. From September 1999 to July 2005, we considered 235 consecutive patients undergoing sentinel lymph-node biopsy. We used the radioactive tracer in 143 cases, and the radiotracer combined with vital blue dye in 89 cases. Vital blue dye was used alone in only 3 cases. In 224 cases the sentinel lymph-node biopsy was performed in a single session, using frozen sections to evaluate the sentinel node. The identification rate obtained was 97.9% with the radiotracer, 100% with the combined procedure and 66.7% with vital blue alone. The sentinel node proved positive in 52 cases. The frozen sections correctly predicted the positive result of the definitive histopathological analysis in 26 cases and correctly predicted a negative result in 172. We discuss the indications and methods of sentinel lymph-node biopsy, analysing our own data and those reported in the literature.

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an effective tool for axillary staging in patients with invasive breast cancer. This procedure has been recently proposed as part of the treatment for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), because cases of undetected invasive foci and nodal metastases occasionally occur. However, the indications for SLN biopsy in DCIS patients are controversial. The aim of the present study was therefore to assess the incidence of SLN metastases in a series of patients with a diagnosis of pure DCIS., Methods: A retrospective evaluation was made of a series of 102 patients who underwent SLN biopsy, and had a final histologic diagnosis of pure DCIS. Patients with microinvasion were excluded from the analysis. The patients were operated on in five Institutions between 1999 and 2004. Subdermal or subareolar injection of 30-50 MBq of 99 m-Tc colloidal albumin was used for SLN identification. All sentinel nodes were evaluated with serial sectioning, haematoxylin and eosin staining, and immunohistochemical analysis for cytocheratin., Results: Only one patient (0.98%) was SLN positive. The primary tumour was a small micropapillary intermediate-grade DCIS and the SLN harboured a micrometastasis. At pathologic revision of the specimen, no detectable focus of microinvasion was found., Conclusion: Our findings indicate that SLN metastases in pure DCIS are a very rare occurrence. SLN biopsy should not therefore be routinely performed in patients who undergo resection for DCIS. SLN mapping can be performed, as a second operation, in cases in which an invasive component is identified in the specimen. Only DCIS patients who require a mastectomy should have SLN biopsy performed at the time of breast operation, since in these cases subsequent node mapping is not feasible.