A Pilot Study of the Impact of Microwave Ablation on the Dielectric Properties of Breast Tissue.

Percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) is a promising technology for patients with breast cancer, as it may help treat individuals who have less aggressive cancers or do not respond to targeted therapies in the neoadjuvant or pre-surgical setting. In this study, we investigate changes to the microwave dielectric properties of breast tissue that are induced by MWA. While similar changes have been characterized for relatively homogeneous tissues, such as liver, those prior results are not directly translatable to breast tissue because of the extreme tissue heterogeneity present in the breast.

Quantitative assessment of distant recurrence risk in early stage breast cancer using a nonlinear combination of pathological, clinical and imaging variables.

Use of genomic assays to determine distant recurrence risk in patients with early stage breast cancer has expanded and is now included in the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual. Algorithmic alternatives using standard clinical and pathology information may provide equivalent benefit in settings where genomic tests, such as OncotypeDx, are unavailable. We developed an artificial neural network (ANN) model to nonlinearly estimate risk of distant cancer recurrence.

Uterine Sarcoma Presenting with Sepsis from Endometritis in a Postmenopausal Woman.

is an anaerobic gram positive rod that is found in normal vaginal and cervical flora in 1-10% of healthy women. Uterine infection with is seen rarely but is often related to underlying uterine pathology and can progress quickly to sepsis. Early recognition of sepsis, prompt treatment with antibiotics, and source control with surgical management allow for optimal chance of recovery.

Targeting Estrogen Receptor Beta in a Phase 2 Study of High-Dose Estradiol in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Wisconsin Oncology Network Study.

Background: Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) is expressed by 50% to 80% of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC). Agonism of ERβ has antiproliferative effects in TNBC cells expressing ERβ. This phase 2 study evaluated single-agent high-dose estradiol in patients with advanced TNBC.

Identification of Selective Lead Compounds for Treatment of High-Ploidy Breast Cancer.

Increased ploidy is common in tumors but treatments for tumors with excess chromosome sets are not available. Here, we characterize high-ploidy breast cancers and identify potential anticancer compounds selective for the high-ploidy state. Among 354 human breast cancers, 10% have mean chromosome copy number exceeding 3, and this is most common in triple-negative and HER2-positive types.

Dynamic and quasi-static mechanical testing for characterization of the viscoelastic properties of human uterine tissue.

Ultrasound elastography is envisioned as an optional modality to augment standard ultrasound B-mode imaging and is a promising technique to aid in detecting uterine masses which cause abnormal uterine bleeding in both pre- and post-menopausal women. In order to determine the effectiveness of strain imaging, mechanical testing to establish the elastic contrast between normal uterine tissue and stiffer masses such as leiomyomas (fibroids) and between softer pathologies such as uterine cancer and adenomyosis has to be performed. In this paper, we evaluate the stiffness of normal uterine tissue, leiomyomas, and endometrial cancers using a EnduraTEC ElectroForce (ELF) system.

Metastasis of primary lung carcinoma to the breast: a systematic review of the literature.

Background: The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize previously published case reports of primary lung carcinoma metastasis to the breast to assess common clinical and pathologic features and management strategies.

Materials And Methods: Case reports describing breast metastasis of primary lung carcinoma were systematically evaluated in MEDLINE and EMBASE.

Results: Thirty-one reported cases of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) metastasized to the breast were identified, along with eight cases of small-cell lung carcinoma.

A new diagnostic test for endometrial cancer?: Cytology analysis of sonohysterography distention media.

Objective: During saline-infused sonohysterography (SIS), the distension fluid is typically discarded. If cytology analysis could identify those patients with endometrial cancer, many women would be spared from further procedures.

Methods: Thirty consecutive patients with clinical stage I or II endometrial adenocarcinoma were prospectively recruited preoperatively.

A phase 1b study of humanized KS-interleukin-2 (huKS-IL2) immunocytokine with cyclophosphamide in patients with EpCAM-positive advanced solid tumors.

Background: Humanized KS-interleukin-2 (huKS-IL2), an immunocytokine with specificity for epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), has demonstrated favorable tolerability and immunologic activity as a single agent.

Methods: Phase 1b study in patients with EpCAM-positive advanced solid tumors to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and safety profile of huKS-IL2 in combination with low-dose cyclophosphamide. Treatment consisted of cyclophosphamide (300 mg/m2 on day 1), and escalating doses of huKS-IL2 (0.

Endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration characteristics of primary adenocarcinoma versus other malignant neoplasms of the pancreas.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) with fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is often used to assist in the evaluation of pancreatic lesions and may help to diagnose benign versus malignant neoplasms. However, there is a paucity of literature regarding comparative EUS characteristics of various malignant pancreatic neoplasms (primary and metastatic).

Objective: To compare and characterize primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma versus other malignant neoplasms, hereafter referred to as nonprimary pancreatic adenocarcinoma (NPPA), diagnosed by EUS-guided FNA.

Uterine leiomyosarcoma diffusely express disialoganglioside GD2 and bind the therapeutic immunocytokine 14.18-IL2: implications for immunotherapy.

Uterine leiomyosarcoma comprises <1 % of uterine malignancies and is known for its clinically aggressive course. Extrapelvic recurrences are common and often lethal. No adjuvant therapies have been shown to significantly improve overall survival, highlighting the need for new and novel therapies.

Growing mammary choristoma masquerading as a lumbosacral lipomyelomeningocele in a pubertal girl.

The authors report, to the best of their knowledge, the first case of lumbosacral choristoma of breast origin, presenting in a young girl with lumbosacral lipomyelomeningocele. Although choristomas are considered to be benign, the regrowth of this mass when the patient was 15 and 16 years of age, and its involvement in the conus medullaris and cauda equina, warranted 2 additional resections with spinal cordotomy resulting in cessation of any further growth. The authors describe the case and provide a review of pertinent literature and a discussion of the mechanisms involving the development and growth of this lesion.

Analysis of human fibroadenomas using three-dimensional impedance maps.

Three-dimensional impedance maps (3DZMs) are virtual volumes of acoustic impedance values constructed from histology to represent tissue microstructure acoustically. From the 3DZM, the ultrasonic backscattered power spectrum can be predicted and model based scatterer properties, such as effective scatterer diameter (ESD), can be estimated. Additionally, the 3DZM can be exploited to visualize and identify possible scattering sites, which may aid in the development of more effective scattering models to better represent the ultrasonic interaction with underlying tissue microstructure.

Compression-dependent viscoelastic behavior of human cervix tissue.

We have characterized the viscoelastic properties of human cervical tissue through a range of precompressional loads and testing frequencies. Mechanical testing is necessary to develop robust elasticity-based techniques for the diagnosis of cervical abnormalities. The storage modulus (E') and material damping (tan 6) were measured in 13 patients, 40 to 76 years old.

Fluorescence spectroscopy: an adjunct diagnostic tool to image-guided core needle biopsy of the breast.

We explored the use of a fiber-optic probe for in vivo fluorescence spectroscopy of breast tissues during percutaneous image-guided breast biopsy. A total of 121 biopsy samples with accompanying histological diagnosis were obtained clinically and investigated in this study. The tissue spectra were analyzed using partial least-squares analysis and represented using a set of principal components (PCs) with dramatically reduced data dimension.

Electromagnetic spectroscopy of normal breast tissue specimens obtained from reduction surgeries: comparison of optical and microwave properties.

Techniques utilizing electromagnetic energy at microwave and optical frequencies have been shown to be promising for breast cancer detection and diagnosis. Since different biophysical mechanisms are exploited at these frequencies to discriminate between healthy and diseased tissue, combining these two modalities may result in a more powerful approach for breast cancer detection and diagnosis. Toward this end, we performed microwave dielectric spectroscopy and optical diffuse reflectance spectroscopy measurements at the same sites on freshly excised normal breast tissues obtained from reduction surgeries at the University of Wisconsin Hospital, using microwave and optical probes with very similar sensing volumes.

Model based and empirical spectral analysis for the diagnosis of breast cancer.

We explored the use of both empirical (Partial Least Squares, PLS) and Monte Carlo model based approaches for the analysis of fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectra measured ex vivo from freshly excised breast tissues and for the diagnosis of breast cancer. Features extracted using both approaches, i.e.

Podoplanin (d2-40): a new immunohistochemical marker for reactive follicular dendritic cells and follicular dendritic cell sarcomas.

The diagnosis of follicular dendritic cell (FDC) sarcoma can be challenging because of its morphologic overlaps with many other spindle cell neoplasms and, therefore, new phenotypic markers will be helpful in its differential diagnosis. Podoplanin is a mucin-type transmembrane glycoprotein that has recently been detected in reactive FDCs. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of podoplanin using a new mouse monoclonal antibody D2-40, and compared them with CD21, a well-established FDC marker, in a comprehensive panel of cases.

Diagnosis of breast cancer using fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy: a Monte-Carlo-model-based approach.

We explore the use of Monte-Carlo-model-based approaches for the analysis of fluorescence and diffuse reflectance spectra measured ex vivo from breast tissues. These models are used to extract the absorption, scattering, and fluorescence properties of malignant and nonmalignant tissues and to diagnose breast cancer based on these intrinsic tissue properties. Absorption and scattering properties, including beta-carotene concentration, total hemoglobin concentration, hemoglobin saturation, and the mean reduced scattering coefficient are derived from diffuse reflectance spectra using a previously developed Monte Carlo model of diffuse reflectance.

Sonohysterography and endometrial cancer: incidence and functional viability of disseminated malignant cells.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate sonohysterography in patients with endometrial cancer and to determine whether (1) transtubal fluid spill occurs during routine sonohysterography, (2) a critical infusion volume for spill exists, or (3) disseminated cancer cells demonstrate viability.

Study Design: At laparotomy, sonohysterography was performed on 16 patients with endometrial adenocarcinoma. Volumes at which tubal spill occurred were recorded.

Fraser syndrome: affected siblings born to nonconsanguineous parents and diagnosed at autopsy.

Fraser syndrome (MIM 219000) is a rare genetic disorder with major features including cryptophthalmos, syndactyly, and genital anomalies. We report 2 independently autopsied children of the same nonconsanguineous parents. The siblings exhibit similar clinical features, all of which are consistent with a diagnosis of Fraser syndrome.

A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal, benign and malignant breast tissues obtained from cancer surgeries.

The development of microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques has been driven by reports of substantial contrast in the dielectric properties of malignant and normal breast tissues. However, definitive knowledge of the dielectric properties of normal and diseased breast tissues at microwave frequencies has been limited by gaps and discrepancies across previously published studies. To address these issues, we conducted a large-scale study to experimentally determine the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of a variety of normal, malignant and benign breast tissues, measured from 0.

Feasibility of near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy on patients undergoing imageguided core-needle biopsy.

We describe a side-firing fiber optic sensor based on near-infrared spectroscopy for guiding core needle biopsy diagnosis of breast cancer. The sensor is composed of three side firing optical fibers (two source fibers and one detection fiber), providing two source-detector separations. The entire assembly is inserted into a core biopsy needle, allowing for sampling to occur at the biopsy site.

A large-scale study of the ultrawideband microwave dielectric properties of normal breast tissue obtained from reduction surgeries.

The efficacy of emerging microwave breast cancer detection and treatment techniques will depend, in part, on the dielectric properties of normal breast tissue. However, knowledge of these properties at microwave frequencies has been limited due to gaps and discrepancies in previously reported small-scale studies. To address these issues, we experimentally characterized the wideband microwave-frequency dielectric properties of a large number of normal breast tissue samples obtained from breast reduction surgeries at the University of Wisconsin and University of Calgary hospitals.