Volume of breast tissue excised during breast-conserving surgery in patients undergoing preoperative systemic therapy.

Purpose: We aimed to determine whether clinical examination could adequately ascertain the volume of tissue to be resected during breast-conserving surgery after neoadjuvant therapy.

Methods: We reviewed the clinical reports of 279 patients with histologically diagnosed invasive breast carcinomas treated with neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery or with primary surgery alone. We estimated volumes of excised tissues, the volume of the tumor mass and the optimal volume required for excision based on 1 cm of clear margins.

CD44+/CD24- cells and lymph node metastasis in stage I and II invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

The presence of tumor-initiating cells (CD44(+)/CD24(-)) in solid tumors has been reported as a possible cause of cancer metastasis and treatment failure. Nevertheless, little is know about the presence of CD44(+)/CD24(-) cells within the primary tumor and metastasis. The proportion of CD44(+)/CD24(-) cells was analyzed in 40 samples and in 10 lymph node metastases using flow cytometry phenotyping.

[Abdominopelvic desmoid tumor].

Desmoid tumor is a noncapsulated neoplasia, locally aggressive, originated from the fibroblasts of the musculo-aponeurotic tissues. Even though with no malignant behavior, such as the ability of generating metastasis or of invasion, the desmoid tumor has a high tendency for local growth, causing deformities in the adjacent organs, pain and sometimes organ dysfunction, depending on the area involved. We report the case of a large intra-abdominal desmoid tumor, invading pelvic organs in a 53 year-old patient.