Objectives: To test the performance of ex vivo fluorescence confocal microscopy (FCM; Vivascope 2500M-G4), as compared to intra-operative frozen section (IFS) analysis, to evaluate surgical margins during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP), with final pathology as the reference standard.
Methods: Overall, 54 margins in 45 patients treated with RARP were analysed with: (1) ex vivo FCM; (2) IFS analysis; and (3) final pathology. FCM margins were evaluated by two different pathologists (experienced [M.
Since the release of the DESTINY-Breast04 (DB-04) trial findings in June 2022, the field of pathology has seen a renaissance of HER2 as a predictive biomarker in breast cancer. The trial focused on patients with metastatic breast cancer who were classified as "HER2-low," i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe introduction of novel anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) for the treatment of HER2-low breast cancers has transformed the traditional dichotomy of HER2 status to an expanded spectrum. However, the identification of HER2-low (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiobanks are key research infrastructures aimed at the collection, storage, processing, and sharing of high-quality human biological samples and associated data for research, diagnosis, and personalized medicine. The Biobank for Translational and Digital Medicine Unit at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) is a landmark in this field. Biobanks collaborate with clinical divisions, internal and external research groups, and industry, supporting patients' treatment and scientific progress, including innovative diagnostics, biomarker discovery, and clinical trial design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: to evaluate which factors can reduce the upgrade rate of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) to in situ or invasive carcinoma in patients who underwent vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) and subsequent surgical excision. (2) Methods: 2955 VABBs were reviewed; 141 patients with a diagnosis of ADH were selected for subsequent surgical excision. The association between patients' characteristics and the upgrade rate to breast cancer was evaluated in both univariate and multivariate analyses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the last few years, ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (US-VABB) has replaced surgical biopsy due to higher diagnostic accuracy and lower patient discomfort, and, at present, an even greater possibility is represented by the new wireless ultrasound-guided VAB device (Wi-UVAB). The purpose of our study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of this new device in a sizeable representative number of patients. From January 2014 to June 2018, 168 biopsies were performed in our institution using the new Wi-UVAB device.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (US-VABB) has recently replaced surgical biopsy as a result of its high diagnostic accuracy and low patient discomfort, and at present it relies mainly on 2 devices, Mammotome and, more recently, Mammotome Elite (Elite). Our purpose was to compare the efficacy of these 2 bioptical devices.
Patients And Methods: We performed US-VABB on 195 patients with Mammotome 8G or 11G in 130 patients and Elite 13G in 65 patients.
Dual epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and HER2 targeting with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor lapatinib is approved for treating advanced HER2-positive breast cancer and can prevent estrogen receptor (ER)-negative mammary tumors in HER2 transgenic mouse models. Ki-67 labeling index (LI) has prognostic and predictive value and can be used to screen drugs' therapeutic and preventive potential in a clinical model of short-term presurgical therapy of breast cancer. We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of lapatinib (1500 mg/d) administered orally for three weeks between biopsy and surgery in 60 women with HER-2-positive breast cancer to assess lapatinib biomarker (including the primary endpoint, Ki-67 LI) and clinical activity in invasive breast cancer, adjacent ductal intraepithelial neoplasia (DIN, which comprises ductal carcinoma in situ and atypical ductal hyperplasia), and distant ductal hyperplasia without atypia (DH).
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