DCIS and axillary nodal evaluation: compliance with national guidelines.

Background: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provide guidelines regarding axillary nodal evaluation in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), but data regarding national compliance with these guidelines remains incomplete.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) analyzing all surgical approaches to axillary evaluation in patients with DCIS. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the multivariate relationship between patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and probability of axillary evaluation.

Miscellaneous syndromes and their management: occult breast cancer, breast cancer in pregnancy, male breast cancer, surgery in stage IV disease.

Surgical therapy for occult breast cancer has traditionally centered on mastectomy; however, breast conservation with whole breast radiotherapy followed by axillary lymph node dissection has shown equivalent results. Patients with breast cancer in pregnancy can be safely and effectively treated; given a patient's pregnancy trimester and stage of breast cancer, a clinician must be able to guide therapy accordingly. Male breast cancer risk factors show strong association with BRCA2 mutations, as well as Klinefelter syndrome.

Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the breast predicts axillary nodal status.

We hypothesize that the diminishing role of axillary node dissection (ALND) in early stage breast cancer could be further reduced in patients with advanced disease depending on the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC). We reviewed records of patients managed with NC and recorded demographics, tumor characteristics, pre/postoperative axillary nodal status, and NC response. We define a response to NC as follows: T2 tumors at least a 50 per cent reduction in the product of the length and width of the tumor and in T3-4 tumors a reduction in tumor size to less than 2 cm.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy's role in triple negative breast cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) facilitates breast conservation in women with large tumors, which are common in our inner city breast clinic. We performed this review of our NC breast cancer experience, which includes a disproportionate number of triple negative patients. Patients treated with NC were divided into two groups based on their tumor's receptor status.

Analysis of demographic and tumor characteristics of an inner city breast cancer patient population compared with patients treated in National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project trials.

In June of 2008 we initiated a breast clinic designed to serve patients regardless of funding status. We analyzed age, race,tumor size, nodal status, estrogen, progesterone, and her-2-neu status. We compared our results to NSABP B-06 (nodal status), B-15 (estrogen, progesterone, and Her-2-neu receptor status), B-18, and B-27 (age, race, and tumor size) to determine whether our patient population was similar to patients included in these trials.