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Background Physicians recommend adjuvant therapy to patients based on baseline risk. A common recognition for baseline risk between patients and physicians is critical for successful adjuvant therapy. We prospectively investigated the differences in estimated baseline risk between physicians and patients with early breast cancer. Methods This analysis was performed at a single institution in Japan. Early breast cancer patients over 18 years old were enrolled after surgery. After explaining the pathological results, physicians asked each patient about an estimated baseline risk. Differences in estimated baseline risk were defined as the baseline risk estimated by patients minus the baseline risk estimated by physicians. The primary endpoint was that the number of patients who estimate baseline risk higher than physicians was higher than those who estimate a lower baseline risk. The secondary endpoints were differences in estimated baseline risk by stage, subtype and the influence of patient factors to differences in estimated baseline risk. Results From July 2017 to December 2018, 262 patients were enrolled. Among the 262 patients, 190 estimated a higher baseline risk than physicians, 53 estimated a lower baseline risk and 19 estimated the same. Overall, patients estimated a significantly higher baseline risk than physicians (P < 0.001). Differences in estimated baseline risk was significantly smaller in patients who knew the term ‘baseline risk’ than patients who did not (P = 0.0037). Differences in estimated baseline risk were also significantly smaller in patients with stage II breast cancer than patients with stage I (P = 0.0239). However, there were no statistically significant differences of differences in estimated baseline risk according to other factors. Conclusions Patients with early breast cancer estimated a significantly higher baseline risk than physicians. Physicians should accurately explain baseline risk to patients for shared decision making.

Background Neoplastic seeding (NS) can occur after tissue biopsy, which is a clinical issue especially in mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. This is because postoperative radiation is not usually given and local recurrence of preserved skin flap may increase. The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of preoperative evaluation of NS and the validity of biopsy scar excision. Patients and methods We retrospectively analysed 174 cases of mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction. The primary endpoint is the frequency of clinical and pathological NS and the secondary endpoint is the problem of excision of needle biopsy site. Results Three cases (1.7%) had preoperative clinical findings of NS. Pathological examination revealed NS in all three cases. Biopsy scars could be excised in 115 cases among 171 cases without clinical NS. Pathological NS was found in 1 of 66 (1.5%) cases of which pathological examination was performed. Biopsy scars could not be excised in the remaining 56 cases: the biopsy scar could not be identified in 41 cases, and there was concern about a decrease in flap blood flow after excision in 15 cases. In 12 of these 15 cases, the scars were close to the skin incision; excision of these scars might have triggered skin necrosis between the incision and the biopsy scar excision site. No postoperative complications were observed. Conclusions It is important to preoperatively evaluate clinical NS, and biopsy scars should be excised in clinical NS cases. Even in cases without clinical NS, biopsy scar excision should be considered. It is also important to perform a biopsy in consideration of the incision design for reconstructive surgery., It is important to evaluate clinical neoplastic seeding (NS) due to biopsy. Biopsy scars should be excised in clinical NS cases. Excision should be considered even without clinical NS.

PurposeWomen diagnosed with early breast cancer are faced with a choice of surgical procedures. Although one of the essential factors in surgical shared decision making is the impact on the body image, the breast morphology after breast conserving surgery is particularly difficult to explain in a uniform manner due to large individual differences. MethodsPatients with breast cancer eligible for breast conserving surgery (BCS) were recruited between June 2020 and October 2021. We surveyed the patients’ satisfaction with our explanation method about breast morphology after BCS using 3D breast imaging in the form of a questionnaire.ResultsA total of 162 patients were enrolled and 137 (84.6%) answered the questionnaire. One hundred and sixteen patients (84.6%) answered that they were very satisfied or satisfied with our explanation method and 100 (73.0%) patients were very satisfied or satisfied with the 3D breast imaging. Some patients answered that visually understanding the breast morphology by 3D breast imaging helped them to prepare for BCS, or on the contrary, made them chose mastectomy with breast reconstruction because the postoperative deformation of BCS was found to be unacceptable. Only a few patients who actually underwent BCS felt that their postoperative morphology was more deformed than the preoperatively imagined one.ConclusionOur results suggest that our preoperative explanation method using 3D breast imaging was useful for shared decision making. We think that 3D breast imaging can help the patients to visualize the individual shape of their breast, and the tumor position and size.

Background Bevacizumab is an antiangiogenic agent, and that synergizes with chemotherapeutic drugs. When used in combination therapies, Bevacizumab is associated with adverse events such as hemorrhage, gastrointestinal perforation, delayed wound healing, and pneumothorax. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these adverse events are not fully understood. Case summary A 45-year-old female with multiple lung metastases that were derived from primary breast cancer, was placed on Bevacizumab + paclitaxel therapy, since this combination has a potent antitumor effect. She reported dyspnea before cycle 3, day 1 and we therefore ran a chest X-ray, which detected a right pneumothorax. The coronal plane computed tomography revealed that one solid mass rapidly necrosed and was replaced by a cavity that passed through the bronchus in the right lower lobe. The cavity eventually ruptured the pleura and made the bronchopleural fistula that led to this pneumothorax. Thoracic cavity drainage using an intercostal catheter was performed. On the 7th day of drainage, the patient was discharged from our hospital on recovery. Recurrence of pneumothorax was not reported, and continuation of chemotherapy was made possible by changing the regimen. Conclusion Patients with lung metastases surrounding the bronchi and on the pleura should be monitored for pneumothorax by Bevacizumab-containing chemotherapies.

The utility of regional nodal irradiation (RNI) is being considered in cases of 1-3 axillary node metastases after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) with axillary lymph-node dissection (ALND). Therefore, we examined the necessity of RNI by examining the sites of recurrences in cases at our institution. We retrospectively analyzed 5,164 cases of primary breast cancer between January 2000 and December 2014 at the Aichi Cancer Centre, identifying local and distant recurrences in 152 patients with primary breast cancer treated with BCS and ALND and who had 1-3 positive axillary nodes. All patients received whole-breast irradiation (WBI) and adjuvant systemic therapy with either chemotherapy or anti-endocrine therapy with or without anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 therapy. The present study excluded patients with ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence, contralateral breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, T4 tumors or N2-3 nodes and distant metastasis. From the database of our institution, we identified 152 cases that met the defined criteria. The median follow-up period was 71 months (1-176). Isolated locoregional recurrences were found in three patients (2.0%) and were recurrent only in the breast. Only one patient had local lymph node recurrence with distant recurrence. The 10-year rates of isolated regional disease-free survival (DFS), DFS, and overall survival were 95.41, 89.50 and 96.75%, respectively, which was better compared with previous studies. We conclude that the addition of RNI to WBI is not necessary for Japanese patients who have 1-3 positive axillary nodes and ALND.

Background: Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the key drugs for primary and metastatic breast cancer. The management of PTX induced peripheral neuropathy (PN) is not easy regardless of several reports about the prevention of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Recently, the effectiveness of compression therapy for nanoparticle albumin-bound-paclitaxel induced PN using surgical gloves (SG) was reported from Japan. However, we consider the accurate assessment of CIPN is difficult because it is evaluated by mainly subjective symptoms, therefore, some biases such as performance bias and detection bias occurred easily. Additionally, it is difficult to confirm the reproducibility of the assessment. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of compression therapy using SG (same procedure as previous reports) for the prevention of CIPN based on the complete blind for patients and assessing physician which means the study design to minimize the biases. Methods: The early and recurrence breast cancer patients who started chemotherapy of weekly PTX 80mg/m2(± Trastuzumab or Bevacizumab or Pertuzumab±Trastuzumab) were enrolled. Each patient installed SG on both hands at every PTX infusion. Two one-size smaller SG was installing on one hand (study side) and two just fitted SG was installing on another hand (control side) during 90 minutes from 30 minutes before the infusion to 30 minutes after the end of the infusion. Study side and control side are blind for both patients and physicians according to the determination of the study side by research nurses in the chemotherapy unit. The primary outcome is the difference in the frequency of CIPN (motor/sensory) between the study side and the control side determined by the physician using the CTCAE v4.0. Grade 2 or more were considered to be CIPN. The secondary outcome is the difference in the frequency of CIPN (motor/sensory) assessed by the patients using Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the CTCAE (PRO-CTCAE). For the severity assessment, ‘moderate’ or more and for the interfering with the daily activities assessment, ’somewhat’ or more was considered as an event. We planned sample size as follows. We assessed the frequency of more than grade2 PN in the control hand is 30% based on previous reports. According to the previous study of compression therapy, we expected 15% difference between each side with 80 % power and a significance level for a two-sided test of 0.05. We consider 5% of the dropout rate, the planned total sample size was 55 patients. McNemar Chi-squared test was used to assess the primary and secondary outcome. Results: Between July 11, 2017 and November 26, 2018, 56 patients were enrolled from our institution. Two patients who complained uncomfortableness of installing SG and unmatched five patients for the inclusion criteria were excluded. As a result, 49 patients were evaluated. For the patient characteristics, median age was 53, 43(87.8%) were early and 6(12.2%) were recurrence breast cancer patients. 21 patients underwent axillary dissection. At the end of the PTX regimen, Grade 2 or more PN (sensory) was observed 34.7% and 34.7% in the study and control side, respectively (McNemar p=1.0). PN (motor) was observed 24.5% and 26.5 % in the study and control side, respectively (McNemar p=1.0). No statistically significant difference of primary endpoint was observed between the control side and the study side. For the Pro-CTCAE assessment, there was also no difference between the study and control side both in the grade of numbness (McNemar p=1.0) and the effect for life. (McNemar p=1.0) Conclusions: SG compression therapy was not effective for decreasing the incidence of PTX induced PN. Citation Format: Haruru Kotani, Nanae Horisawa, Kayoko Sugino, Ayumi Kataoka, Yayoi Adachi, Naomi Gondou, Akiyo Yoshimura, Masaya Hattori, Masataka Sawaki, Mitsuo Terada, Hiroji Iwata. A double-blind phase 2 trial of preventative use of surgical gloves for paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-14-25.

There are little data regarding the overall survival (OS) of patients without adjuvant systemic therapy, because most patients have been subject to standardized systemic therapies. We evaluated the baseline risk to facilitate making decisions about adjuvant therapy. A total of 1835 breast cancer patients who did not receive adjuvant systemic therapy between 1964 and 1992 were retrospectively evaluated. We investigated the 10-year disease-free survival (DFS) and OS according to the number of metastatic lymph nodes, pathological T classification, stage, and estrogen receptor (ER) status. Survival curves showed that as the number of metastatic lymph nodes, pathological T classification, and staging increased, the 10-year OS and DFS decreased. In univariate and multivariable analyses, the number of metastatic lymph nodes was significantly associated with the DFS and OS, while in a univariate analysis, the pathological T classification and stage were significantly associated with the DFS and OS. ER positivity was a good prognostic factor for the 5-year DFS. However, between 6 and 7 years after surgery, ER negativity was a better prognostic factor than ER positivity. We showed survival rates of patients without adjuvant therapy according to TNM classification and ER status. This information can aid in treatment selection for doctors and patients through a shared decision-making approach.

PurposeThe DESTINY-Breast04 clinical trial is currently investigating whether trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is effective in HER2-low as well as HER2-positive breast cancer. This highlights the interest in treatment strategies for patients with HER2-low breast cancer. The current study was therefore designed to determine the frequency of HER2-low among all breast cancers, and to compare the prognosis of HER2-low patients with that of HER2-negative patients. MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the biological data from 4,918 of 4,977 primary breast cancer patients who attended our institute. We quantified the overall frequency of breast cancer patients with a new HER2-low subtype that was defined by an immunohistochemistry score of IHC1+ or IHC2+/ISH-. We then compared the clinical characteristics and prognosis of HER2-low patients with that of patients who did not have HER2 amplification (HER2-0). ResultsLow HER2 expression was found in 3169 (64.4%) patients; 2860 (58.1%) were HR-positive and 309(6.3%) were HR-negative. Among HER2-0 patients, 681(13.9%) were HR-positive and 157(3.2%) were HR-negative. The HER2-0 group tended to have more poor prognostic factors than the HER2-low group, irrespective of HR status. There were no statistically significant differences between the prognosis of HER2-low and HER2-0 patients, regardless of HR status. However, patients in the HER2-low group tended to have better prognosis than those in the HER2-0 group.ConclusionHER2-low patients did not have a significantly different prognosis than HER2-0 patients, regardless of HR status. However, we should consider tailoring therapies for patients with HRE2-low early breast cancer according to their HR status.

The efficacy of adjuvant endocrine therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer has been previously established. However, significant adverse events related to endocrine therapy cannot be ignored. T1 breast cancer is expected to have a good prognosis. Therefore, adjuvant endocrine therapy for T1a breast cancer patients is controversial. Thus, in this study, we examined the effect of endocrine therapy on the prognosis of T1N0 hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer patients in each tumor size group, and re-considered the application of endocrine therapy. We retrospectively obtained clinical and pathological data from medical records of 7635 patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer at Aichi Cancer Hospital between January 2000 and December 2017. The primary end point of our analysis was disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary end points were distant disease-free survival (DDFS), overall survival (OS), and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). The log-rank test, cumulative survival generated curves with Kaplan–Meier methods and the hazard ratio (HR) calculated with a Cox regression model were used to assess the effects of endocrine therapy on prognosis. The 5-year DFS was worse in the non-endocrine therapy (non-ET) group (78%) than the endocrine therapy (ET) group (95%) in the T1c population (p

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common adverse effect of paclitaxel (PTX). There is no known prophylactic measure, although there are some reports of prevention with compression therapy using surgical gloves. On account of its predominantly subjective symptoms, it is difficult to exclude bias when assessing for CIPN. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of the same procedure for the prevention of paclitaxel-induced PN based on a double-blind study design.Methods: The patients with early and recurrent breast cancer (with no prior PTX exposure) initiating weekly chemotherapy with PTX 80 mg/m2 were enrolled. Each patient donned two gloves on each hand at every PTX infusion. Two one-size-smaller gloves were donned on one hand (study side) and two normal-size gloves were donned on the other hand (control side) during 90 minutes from 30 minutes before the infusion to 30 minutes after the end of the infusion. Study side are blind for both patients and assessing physicians according to determination of the study side by research nurses in the chemotherapy unit.The primary outcome was the difference in the frequency of CIPN (motor/sensory) determined by the physician using the common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE v4.0), with an evaluation at each cycle of PTX infusion. McNemar test was used to assess the primary outcome.Results: Between July 2017 and November 2018, 56 patients were enrolled and 49 patients were evaluated. Overall, Grade ≥ 2 PN (sensory) was observed in 30.6% and 36.7% in the study and control sides, respectively (McNemar p = 0.25). PN (motor) was observed in 4.1% and 6.1% in the study and control sides, respectively (McNemar p = 1.0). Conclusion: Surgical glove compression therapy showed no statistically significant effect on the incidence of PTX-induced PN.Trial registrations: This study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trials Registry managed by the National University Hospital Council of Japan (UMIN000027944).

Background Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common adverse effect of paclitaxel (PTX). There is no known prophylactic measure, although there are some reports of prevention with compression therapy using surgical gloves. On account of its predominantly subjective symptoms, it is difficult to exclude bias when assessing for CIPN. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of the same procedure for the prevention of paclitaxel-induced PN based on a double-blind study design. Methods The patients with early and recurrent breast cancer (with no prior PTX exposure) initiating weekly chemotherapy with PTX 80 mg/m2 were enrolled. Each patient donned two gloves on each hand at every PTX infusion. Two one-size-smaller gloves were donned on one hand (study side) and two normal-size gloves were donned on the other hand (control side) during 90 min from 30 min before the infusion to 30 min after the end of the infusion. Study side are blind for both patients and assessing physicians according to determination of the study side by research nurses in the chemotherapy unit. The primary outcome was the difference in the frequency of CIPN (motor/sensory) determined by the physician using the common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE v4.0), with an evaluation at each cycle of PTX infusion. McNemar test was used to assess the primary outcome. Results Between July 2017 and November 2018, 56 patients were enrolled and 49 patients were evaluated. Overall, Grade ≥ 2 PN (sensory) was observed in 30.6 and 36.7% in the study and control sides, respectively (McNemar p = 0.25). PN (motor) was observed in 4.1 and 6.1% in the study and control sides, respectively (McNemar p = 1.0). Conclusion Surgical glove compression therapy showed no statistically significant effect on the incidence of PTX-induced PN. Trial registrations This study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trials Registry managed by the National University Hospital Council of Japan (UMIN000027944). Registered 26 June 2017.

Background Radiation-associated angiosarcoma (RAAS) is a rare subtype of secondary angiosarcoma that is characterized by rapid proliferation and extensive tissue infiltration. Although various treatments for RAAS (such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy) have been reported, there is no consensus as to which approach is the best. Case presentation A 76-year-old woman presented with right breast cancer (T1N0M0, stage I) 9 years ago. She had undergone breast-conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy and was receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy for the malignancy. Six years after presenting with the tumor, she developed pigmented skin and was diagnosed with a RAAS; this angiosarcoma recurred three times within 2 years. The angiosarcoma was resected each of the three times, after which adjuvant radiation therapy was performed. At 76 years old, the patient developed a new mass on her chest skin in the vicinity of the scar. Angiosarcoma was diagnosed following a pathology report, which resulted in a second diagnosis of recurrent RAAS again since the diagnostic criteria were met. After extensive resection of the irradiated area, the patient has remained free of angiosarcoma for the last 3 years. Conclusion Resection of the entire irradiated field is critical for successful treatment of RAAS.

Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and its survival rate has improved. As the number of cancer survivors increases, it is important to support their social comeback during and after treatment. Methods Questionnaires were distributed to breast cancer patients treated in Aichi Cancer Center Hospital between June and November 2014. Responders were categorized according to adjuvant therapy (Group A: none, Group B: endocrine therapy, Group C: chemotherapy), or if they had advanced or recurrent breast cancer (Group D). Results A total of 279 patients returned questionnaires (62, 79, 92 and 46 patients in Groups A, B, C and D, respectively). In adjuvant treatment groups, 43 patients (18.5%) quit their job during or after treatment. Most patients had quit their jobs at the time of diagnosis (7.5%), followed by those undergoing chemotherapy (5.6%) and those at the time of operation (4.9%). Quit rate from the workplace in which patients worked at the time of diagnosis was highest in Group C (30%), followed by Group B (20%) and Group A (13%). At the time of operation, 127 patients (57%) were absent from work. In Group D, 16 patients (35%) quit their job during treatment. Rates for patients currently working who had anxiety were 62, 30, 26 and 9% in Groups D, C, B and A, respectively. Conclusions In adjuvant treatment groups, in which quit rate was highest at the time of diagnosis, consultation about working is necessary immediately after diagnosis. Patients treated most heavily had higher quit rates and experienced more anxiety about working.

Enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) are used to assess residual lesions after preoperative chemotherapy before surgery. However, residual lesion assessments based on preoperative imaging often differ from postoperative pathologic diagnoses. We retrospectively reviewed the accuracy of preoperative residual lesion assessments, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cases to find criteria for cases in which surgery can be omitted. We reviewed 201 patients who received preoperative chemotherapy and surgery in our hospital from January 2013 to November 2016. Presurgical evaluations regarding the possible existence of residual lesions, and clinical Complete Response (cCR) or non-cCR, were compared with postoperative pathological diagnoses. Of the 201 patients, 52 were diagnosed with cCR, and 39 with pathological complete response (pCR). Predictions for residual lesions were 86.4% sensitive, 76.9% specific, and 84.6% accurate. When patients were divided into 4 groups by estrogen receptor (ER) and HER2 status, sensitivity in each group was ER+/HER2−: 91.4%; ER−/HER2−: 94.1%; ER+/HER2+: 78.6%; and ER−/HER2+: 78.5%. Of the 22 patients preoperatively assessed with cCR, but diagnosed with non-pCR, the median invasive residual tumor size was 2 mm (range 0–46 mm); 5 patients (22.7%) had only DCIS. Predicting residual lesions after preoperative chemotherapy by using MRI and US is a reasonable strategy. However, current methods are inadequate for identifying patients who can omit surgery; therefore, a new strategy for detecting small tumors in these patients is needed.

Recent studies suggested that ALND (axillary lymph node dissection) can be avoided in breast cancer patients with limited SLN (sentinel lymph node) metastasis. However, these trials included only several invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) cases, and the validity of omitting ALND for ILC remains controversial. Here, we examined whether omitting ALND is feasible in ILC treatment. A total of 3771 breast cancer patients underwent surgery for breast cancer at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital between January 2006 and December 2015. We excluded patients with neoadjuvant therapy or without axillary management, and identified 184 ILC patients and 2402 invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) patients. We compared SLN and non-SLN metastasis rates and the number of total ALN metastases between the ILC and IDC cohorts, and we examined the factors that influenced non-SLN metastasis in the SLN micrometastasis group. SLN biopsies were performed in 171 (93%) ILC and 2168 (90%) IDC cases, and 31 (18%) ILC and 457 (21%) IDC cases were SLN micrometastasis and macrometastasis (p = 0.36). Among SLN macrometastasis patients, 17 (68%) ILC cases and 163 (46%) IDC cases showed non-SLN metastasis (p = 0.03). The number of non-SLN metastases was greater in ILC cases compared with IDC cases. Multivariate analysis showed that ILC was the influential factor predicting non-SLN metastasis in patients with SLN macrometastasis. ILC cases had more non-SLN metastasis than IDC cases among SLN-positive cases, and ILC was an important factor for the prediction of non-SLN positivity in SLN macrometastasis cases. Omitting ALND for ILC with positive SLNs requires more consideration.

Contralateral risk-reducing mastectomy (CRRM) for breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations has been reported to not only reduce breast cancer incidence but also to improve survival. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend providing CRRM to women with BRCA mutations who desire CRRM after risk-reduction counseling. However, in Japan, CRRM cannot be performed generally because it is not covered by health insurance. Thus, we conducted a feasibility study to confirm the safety of CRRM. CRRM with bilateral breast reconstructions were performed for breast cancer patients with BRCA mutations. The primary endpoint was early adverse events within 3 months, and secondary endpoints were late adverse events. Between August 2014 and November 2016, ten patients were enrolled. The median age was 37.5 years, and five of the patients had the BRCA1 mutation while five had the BRCA2 mutation. Six patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Eight patients selected silicone breast implants, and two patients selected transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap reconstruction. Pathological findings showed no evidence of occult breast cancers in any of the patients. At a median of 25.5 months follow-up time, CRRM-related early adverse events were hematoma (subsequently removed by re-operation; grade 2, n = 1), wound infection (grade 2, n = 1), skin ulceration (grade 1, n = 2) and wound pain (grade 1, n = 1). Overall, there were no grade 3 or more severe adverse events. Our results confirm that CRRM with reconstruction could be performed safely.

This abstract was withdrawn by the authors.

Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) has been become a standard treatment for patients with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy. However, whether IBR is appropriate in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is still unclear. Therefore, in this study we examined the rates of operative adverse events (AEs), risk factors for operative AEs, and effects on chemotherapy and radiotherapy of IBR with NAC. Between January 2012 and March 2018, 593 patients underwent IBR at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital. We retrospectively obtained clinical data of all these patients from their medical records and identified 56 patients (65 breasts) who had received NAC (NAC group) and 537 patients (568 breasts) who had not (non-NAC group). We compared the rates of operative AEs, risk factors for operative AEs, chemotherapy-related AEs, and duration to radiotherapy between the NAC and non-NAC cohorts. The rate of operative AEs was significantly higher in the NAC than the non-NAC group (35% vs. 22%, p

Lymphedema (LE) decreases the quality of life of breast cancer patients. Objective quantification of PRO may improve the discordance between patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and objective assessments of LE by establishing a standard follow-up for LE. This study determined the prevalence of subjective and objective LE and evaluated the correlation between objective assessment and PRO of LE in primary breast cancer patients undergoing breast and axilla surgery. Breast cancer patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SN) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) more than 1 year after surgery were enrolled. We prospectively evaluated LE using the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) and two objective assessments (arm circumference and bioimpedance) and analyzed their correlations. Between November 2018 and January 2019, 631 patients (SN; n = 415, ALND; n = 216) were enrolled. The median age, body mass index, and duration from surgery was 56 years, 21.9 kg/m2, and 3.8 years, respectively. The prevalences of subjective and objective LE were 4.1% and 1.4% in the SN group and 51.8% and 24.1% in the ALND group, respectively. The objective assessments were weakly positively correlated with PRO-CTCAE. Arm circumference measurement correlated better than bioimpedance overall and was most strongly correlated with “frequency” (r = 0.485, p

Objective The relationship between the body mass index (BMI) at the time of breast cancer diagnosis and the prognosis of breast cancer patients has not yet been clarified. We investigated the impact of obesity for clinical outcomes in Japanese breast cancer patients. Methods Women with primary breast cancer operated between 2002 and 2014 were identified. All patients are categorized into four groups according to BMI. The range of BMI is 30 kg/m2 in underweight, normal, overweight and obesity groups, respectively. The correlation between BMI and overall survival (OS), breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were statistically analyzed. Results From the database of our institution, we identified 3223 patients. The median follow-up period was 57 months (1–149). We categorized 2257 (70.0%), 318 (9.9%), 545 (16.9%) and 103 (3.2%) patients into normal, underweight, overweight obesity groups respectively. There were189 patients (5.9%) deaths due to breast cancer recurrence (137 patients) and other disease (52 patients). Obesity groups was significantly high compared with normal groups for OS (adjusted HR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.38–4.28; P Conclusion Obesity might be risk factor for OS, BCSS and DFS, especially postmenopausal ER-positive women.

Background Giant cell tumor (GCT) of the breast is scarce. We report a case of GCT of the breast which was suspected as a malignant breast tumor. Case presentation A 74-year-old woman noticed a tender lump in her right breast. We suspected a malignant tumor spreading widely with axillary lymph node metastasis on clinical examination and imaging. Histological evaluation of the biopsy tissue revealed a tumor composed the proliferation of oval to spindle-shaped cells and multinucleated giant cells without malignant epithelial cells. The tumor cells stained positively for CD68 and negatively for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. The pathological findings suggested GCT, and fine needle aspiration biopsy for the axillary lymph node was negative. However, there was a gap between the clinical presentation, such as a tender mass suggesting rapid growth and multiple lymphadenopathies, and the pathological presentation of biopsy, which made us hesitate to conclude GCT as the final preoperative diagnosis. We could not rule out the possibility of malignant tumors with OGCs before surgery. We performed mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy according to a surgical procedure for node-negative breast cancer with a wide ductal spread. The resected tissue histologically showed the same findings to the biopsy tissue. The definitive diagnosis of GCT of the breast was given, because the tumor lacked epithelial components, marked cellular atypia, and pleomorphism. Conclusions GCT of the breast occasionally pretends as breast malignant tumors. Complete tumor resection should be performed for local control and the definitive diagnosis.

Background Amyloid tumor of the breast is a rare disease, which was first reported in 1973. To date, only six cases have been reported in Japan. Case presentation A 45-year-old woman who had a medical history of Sjogren’s syndrome presented with a lump of 3 cm in diameter on the outer side of the right breast. Mammography showed no abnormality. Ultrasonography showed a well-defined and rough hypoechoic mass of 32 mm in diameter at the site of the lump. With suspicion of breast cancer, an ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy was performed. For pathological diagnosis, hematoxylin and eosin staining showed deposits of nonstructural substances in the interstitium. The specimen stained red with Congo red staining and showed green birefringence under a polarizing microscope. Thus, the mass was diagnosed as an amyloid tumor. Since the patient had Sjogren’s syndrome, it was considered a breast finding of autoimmune disease. We considered further therapy to be unnecessary, and annual follow-up was recommended. Conclusions We diagnosed the mass as an amyloid tumor by an ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy without resection. The patient had no systemic symptoms suspected systemic amyloidosis, and we diagnosed localized amyloidosis. An amyloid tumor of the breast may show findings suggestive of breast cancer. Pathological diagnosis before surgery is important to avoid excessive invasion. If deposits of nonstructural substances are observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, Congo red staining should be added.

Evaluation of axilla lymph node metastasis is very important in determining the treatment strategy for primary breast cancer. The imaging method 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) provides reliable information about metastasis, however it has limitations. A 40-year-old female first noticed a mass in her left breast. Ultrasonography (US) showed an uncircumscribed mass measuring 1.5 cm beneath the nipple in her left breast, and swelling axilla lymph node as metastasis. Primary tumor and 4 axilla lymph nodes were detected as hot spot by FDG-PET. However, we got new information which she received influenza vaccination 4 days before she had undergone FDG-PET before determining the strategy with patient. To decide the plan of treatment, it was necessary to have the reliable imaging result, therefore, we performed the second FDG-PET 25 days after the influenza vaccination. We report a case showing false-positive of axillary lymph nodes by FDG-PET caused by influenza vaccination. Influenza vaccination before FDG-PET examination may cause axillary lymph node accumulations, especially within several days after vaccination.

Skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) with immediate reconstruction is standard surgical treatment for early breast cancer with widespread ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The local recurrence rate after SSM is up to 7.0%. We investigated prediction of the pathological margin using contrast-enhanced MRI, and evaluated the cut-off point to obtain the safety margin. We performed SSM with immediate reconstruction in 216 early breast cancer patients with widespread DCIS and/or invasive cancer from January 2014 to December 2015. Forty cases were retrospectively reviewed after excluding those with >15 mm between skin and tumor, determined by preoperative contrast-enhanced MRI, or involving reconstructive surgery for local recurrence, immeasurable lesion by preoperative contrast-enhanced MRI, or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We defined a positive pathological margin as