Publications by authors named "Anna Morra"

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of partial breast reirradiation (re-PBI) with intensity modulated radiation therapy using a hypofractionated scheme for breast cancer (BC) local relapse (LR) operated on with repeat breast-conservative surgery.

Methods And Materials: Intensity modulated radiation therapy-based re-PBI was performed using either helical or step-and-shoot modality to deliver 37.05 Gy in 13 fractions in 2.

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Purpose: Intraoperative radiation therapy with electrons (IOERT) may represent a viable choice for partial breast reirradiation after repeat quadrantectomy for local recurrence (LR) for primary breast cancer (BC) in lieu of mastectomy.

Methods And Materials: A database collecting data on partial breast reirradiation with IOERT from 8 Italian centers was set up in 2016 to 2018, providing data on cumulative incidence (CumI) of second LR and survival with a long follow-up.

Results: From 2002 to 2015, 109 patients underwent the conservative retreatment.

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Similar to invasive breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ is also going through a phase of changes not only from a technical but also a conceptual standpoint. From prescribing radiotherapy to everyone to personalized approaches, including radiotherapy omission, there is still a lack of a comprehensive framework to guide radiation oncologists in decision making. Many pieces of the puzzle are finding their place as high-quality data mature and are disseminated, but very often, the interpretation of risk factors and the perception of risk remain very highly subjective.

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This study quantified the incidental dose to the first axillary level (L1) in locoregional treatment plan for breast cancer. Eighteen radiotherapy centres contoured L1-L4 on three different patients (P1,2,3), created the L2-L4 planning target volume (single centre planning target volume, SC-PTV) and elaborated a locoregional treatment plan. The L2-L4 gold standard clinical target volume (CTV) along with the gold standard L1 contour (GS-L1) were created by an expert consensus.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers are looking into giving radiotherapy (RT) before surgery for breast cancer (BC), which could help more patients get better treatment.
  • * This new approach uses advanced technology to focus the treatment more accurately, reducing side effects and improving results.
  • * The study aims to gather important data that can help design better future treatments and make RT more personalized for patients with early-stage BC.
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  • Breast cancer patients with the CHEK2 c.1100delC variant have a heightened risk of developing a second breast cancer (contralateral breast cancer) and generally experience worse survival outcomes compared to those without the variant.
  • A study involving over 82,000 women aimed to evaluate how the CHEK2 variant, radiotherapy, and systemic treatments affect the risk of contralateral breast cancer and breast cancer-specific survival.
  • Findings indicated that while systemic therapy (especially the combination of chemotherapy and endocrine therapy) lowers the risk of contralateral breast cancer, CHEK2 c.1100delC carriers still faced poorer survival rates, suggesting other factors at play beyond the risk of developing a second cancer.*
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  • A study evaluated the PREDICT v 2.2 tool for predicting the prognosis of breast cancer in patients with BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene variants, using data from over 5,400 carriers across two major cancer research consortia.
  • The PREDICT model showed reasonable effectiveness in distinguishing high-mortality groups for estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer in BRCA1 carriers, while for BRCA2 carriers, its accuracy was lower and fluctuated based on tumor characteristics.
  • The findings suggest that while PREDICT can aid in management of breast cancer patients, adjustments for BRCA2 status and tumor features are necessary to improve prognosis estimates, particularly for ER-positive cases.
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  • - The study investigated the links between genetic variants in breast cancer susceptibility genes (besides BRCA1, BRCA2, and CHEK2) and risks of developing contralateral breast cancer (CBC) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) in 34,401 women of European ancestry who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • - Significant findings revealed that protein-truncating variants (PTVs) and certain missense variants (MSVs) in genes like BRCA1, BRCA2, TP53, CHEK2, and PALB2 were associated with higher CBC risk and negative impacts on BCSS, indicating that these genetic factors play a crucial role in cancer outcomes.
  • - The results showed minimal
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Breast cancer (BC) patients with a germline c.1100delC variant have an increased risk of contralateral BC (CBC) and worse BC-specific survival (BCSS) compared to non-carriers. We aimed to assess the associations of c.

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Aim: To evaluate outcome of intraoperative electron boost (IOERT) and hypofractionated whole breast irradiation (HWBI) for breast cancer (BC) in young women.

Methods And Materials: Women aged ≤ 48 with pT1-2 N0-1 BC received 12 Gy IOERT boost during conservative surgery followed by 3-dimensional conformal HWBI in 13 fractions (2.85 Gy/die).

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Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common tumor in women and represents the leading cause of cancer death. Radiation therapy plays a key-role in the treatment of all breast cancer stages. Therefore, the adoption of evidence-based treatments is warranted, to ensure equity of access and standardization of care in clinical practice.

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Background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and whole breast radiation therapy (WBRT) are the standard of care for early-stage breast cancer (BC). Based on the observation that most local recurrences occurred near the tumor bed, accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI), consisting of a higher dose per fraction to the tumor bed over a reduced treatment time, has been gaining ground as an attractive alternative in selected patients with low-risk BC. Although more widely delivered in postoperative setting, preoperative APBI has also been investigated in a limited, though increasing, and number of studies.

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  • Rare germline genetic variants in specific genes are linked to increased breast cancer risk, but their impact on different subtypes of the disease is not fully understood.
  • The BRIDGES study analyzed data from 42,680 breast cancer patients and 46,387 controls, focusing on specific genetic mutations and their associations with tumor characteristics.
  • Results showed that certain gene variants (like RAD51C, RAD51D, and BARD1) are primarily linked to triple-negative breast cancer, while others (like CHEK2) are associated with various subtypes, indicating varied genetic influence on breast cancer types.
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Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the toxicity, local control, overall and disease-free survival of elderly breast cancer (BC) patients treated with adjuvant once-weekly ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy (RT) either with intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) or 3D conformal RT (3DCRT).

Methods: From July 2011 to July 2018, BC patients receiving 5.7 Gy once a week for 5 weeks to the whole breast after breast-conserving surgery were considered for the study.

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Background: Adjuvant chemotherapy for Luminal B-like breast cancers usually includes anthracycline-based regimens. However, some patients are reluctant to receive chemotherapy because of side-effects, especially alopecia, and ask for a "less intensive" or personalized approach.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a phase II feasibility trial to evaluate pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD, Caelyx) as adjuvant chemotherapy.

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  • The study looks at a new way to give radiation therapy to breast cancer patients who had cancer come back after already receiving radiation during surgery.
  • They used a method that protects the area that was already treated, so it doesn't get too much radiation again.
  • The results showed that this method worked well without causing serious side effects, and all the patients stayed healthy after the treatment.
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Background: Postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) with TomoHelical™ (TH) or TomoDirect™ (TD) allows a uniform target coverage. In this study, we compare treatment plans using TD and TH in the setting of hypofractionated PMRT and immediate breast reconstruction.

Material And Methods: The TD-treatment plans of breast cancer patients treated between May 2016 and August 2019 were retrospectively selected.

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Aim: To assess the rate of positive non-sentinel lymph nodes (non-SLNs) after neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NAST) in breast cancer (BC) following positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

Materials And Methods: From institutional database, 265 consecutive patients receiving NAST for cT1-3, any N, M0 BC between 2001 and 2018 were identified. Patients presented clinically negative axilla before surgery and were candidate for SLNB.

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Aim: To evaluate reconstruction failure (RF) rate in patients receiving implant-based immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) and hypofractionated (HF) postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT).

Materials And Methods: Stage II-III breast cancer patients, treated with HF-PMRT using intensity modulated radiotherapy were stratified in two groups according to IBR: single-stage direct-to-implant (DTI-group) and two-stage expander and implant (TE/I-group). Irradiated patients were matched with non-irradiated ones who underwent the same IBR during the same period.

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Background: Given the high heterogeneity among breast tumors, associations between common germline genetic variants and survival that may exist within specific subgroups could go undetected in an unstratified set of breast cancer patients.

Methods: We performed genome-wide association analyses within 15 subgroups of breast cancer patients based on prognostic factors, including hormone receptors, tumor grade, age, and type of systemic treatment. Analyses were based on 91,686 female patients of European ancestry from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium, including 7531 breast cancer-specific deaths over a median follow-up of 8.

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Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lombardy (Northern Italy) Regional Health Council created hubs for cancer care, meant to be SARS-CoV-2-free pathways for cancer patients. The workflow of breast cancer (BC) radiotherapy (RT) in one of the hubs is presented here.

Methods: Candidates to adjuvant RT during the pandemic peak of March-April 2020 were compared to those treated in the same period of 2019, and patient volume, deferral rate, and type of RT were analyzed.

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Purpose: To assess outcome of breast cancer (BC) stages pT1-2 N0-1 after mastectomy alone and to identify prognostic factors calling for the need of postmastectomy radiotherapy.

Methods: Patients who were not eligible for breast conserving surgery (BCS) were operated on with mastectomy between 1998 and 2008. Locoregional (LRR), distant (DM) control and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS) were retrospectively evaluated.

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  • The study examined modifiable lifestyle factors affecting survival after invasive breast cancer across various subtypes.
  • Analysis of data from over 121,000 women indicated strong links between all-cause mortality and factors like BMI, smoking, and physical activity, with no significant differences based on breast cancer subtype.
  • The findings suggest that lifestyle changes could play a role in improving survival outcomes, and these associations may aid in patient care strategies without substantial subtype variations.
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Background: Epidemiological studies provide strong evidence for a role of endogenous sex hormones in the aetiology of breast cancer. The aim of this analysis was to identify genetic variants that are associated with urinary sex-hormone levels and breast cancer risk.

Methods: We carried out a genome-wide association study of urinary oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3-glucuronide levels in 560 premenopausal women, with additional analysis of progesterone levels in 298 premenopausal women.

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Background: Observational studies have investigated the association of risk factors with breast cancer prognosis. However, the results have been conflicting and it has been challenging to establish causality due to potential residual confounding. Using a Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach, we aimed to examine the potential causal association between breast cancer-specific survival and nine established risk factors for breast cancer: alcohol consumption, body mass index, height, physical activity, mammographic density, age at menarche or menopause, smoking, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

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