Intraoperative Radiation for Breast Cancer with Intrabeam™: Factors Associated with Decreased Operative Times in Patients Having IORT for Breast Cancer.

Introduction: Intraoperative radiation with Intrabeam™ (IORT) for breast cancer is a newer technology recently implemented into the operating room (OR). This procedure requires time and coordination between the surgeon and radiation oncologist, who both perform their treatments in a single operative setting. We evaluated the surgeons at our center, who perform IORT and their OR times to examine changes in OR times following implementation of this new surgical procedure.

Predictive factors on outcomes in metaplastic breast cancer.

Purpose: Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare, aggressive variant of breast cancer, with limited data available regarding treatment and outcomes. This study aims to review patients with MBC treated at our tertiary care institution with an emphasis on the role of treatment modality and histologic classification.

Methods: With IRB-approval, we queried our pathology database for patients with MBC diagnosis.

Retrospective study of the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab/pertuzumab (TCH-P) in nonmetastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.

Background: Pertuzumab is FDA approved in the preoperative setting in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy, in women with nonmetastatic HER2 + breast cancer. The TRYPHAENA trial (n = 77) reported a pathologic complete response rate (pCR), i.e.

Medical student documentation in electronic health records: a collaborative statement from the Alliance for Clinical Education.

Purpose: The electronic health record (EHR) is an important advancement in health care. It facilitates improvement of health care delivery and coordination of care, but it creates special challenges for student education. This article represents a collaborative effort of the Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE), a multidisciplinary group formed in 1992.

Teaching technical skills to medical students during a surgery clerkship: results of a small group curriculum.

Background: Opportunities for medical students to learn and perform technical skills during their clinical years have decreased. Alternative means to provide instruction are increasingly important.

Methods: Third-year students were assigned to three weekly small group tutorial sessions during their surgery clerkship.

Low correlation between subjective and objective measures of knowledge on surgery clerkships.

Background: Medical student knowledge is assessed during surgical clerkships subjectively and objectively. Subjective evaluation depends on faculty assessment during clinical and didactic interactions. Objective measurement derives from standardized tools, such as the National Board of Medical Examiners Surgery Subject test (shelf).

Focus group study of hand hygiene practice among healthcare workers in a teaching hospital in Toronto, Canada.

Objective: To understand the behavioral determinants of hand hygiene in our hospital.

Design: Qualitative study based on 17 focus groups.

Setting: Mount Sinai Hospital, an acute care tertiary hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.

A CRASH course in procedural skills improves medical students' self-assessment of proficiency, confidence, and anxiety.

Background: Medical students enter the clinical education years with minimal exposure to procedural skills. This study aims to determine the effect of a pre-clinical skills course on students' ratings of proficiency, confidence, and anxiety levels.

Methods: An elective pre-clinical course in procedural skills was given to medical students prior to clinical rotations.

Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast and heparanase-1 expression: a molecular explanation for more aggressive subtypes.

Background: Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) forms a heterogeneous group of lesions with varying invasive potential. This study tested whether heparanase-1 (HPR1), an endoglycosidase that specifically degrades the heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans in the breast extracellular matrix, was associated with the most aggressive DCIS subtypes.

Study Design: Fifty-seven DCIS specimens and 10 normal breast specimens were examined for HPR1 expression using immunohistochemical staining.

Heparanase-1 expression is associated with the metastatic potential of breast cancer.

Background: Metastasis of malignant breast cells is in part mediated through degradation of the extra-cellular matrix by proteolysis, enabling malignant cells to migrate through the surrounding stroma. Heparanase-1 (HPR1) is an endoglycosidase that specifically degrades the heparan sulfate (HS) moiety of proteoglycans, a component of the extracellular matrix and basement membrane.

Methods: Fifty-one primary breast tumors, 13 lymph node metastases, 4 ductal carcinoma in situ, 7 benign, and 5 normal specimens were examined for HPR1 expression using immunohistochemical staining.