Publications by authors named "Shou Tung Chen"

Background: The aims of this cohort study were to identify (1) the incidence and risk factors for axillary web syndrome (AWS) with shoulder movement limitation within 4 weeks after axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for Asian women with breast cancer (BC), and (2) whether early intervention with physical therapy (PT) could improve AWS, and how many PT sessions would be needed.

Methods: A cohort study of patients with BC receiving ALND was performed at Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan, between January 2019 and December 2020. Those patients who were diagnosed with AWS with shoulder movement limitation were referred to receive PT twice weekly at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

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  • Endoscopic-assisted breast surgery (EABS) offers better cosmetic results for breast cancer patients, but traditional axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) requires larger incisions and more retraction.
  • The proposed single-port three-dimensional endoscopic-assisted ALND (S-P 3D E-ALND) uses a minimally invasive technique with high success rates and improved visualization, analyzed from a study of 11 patients.
  • Preliminary results show 100% success without open surgery conversion, short operative times, minimal blood loss, and no significant complications over a median follow-up of 7 months, suggesting that S-P 3D E-ALND is a viable alternative for ALND.
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  • Study Overview
  • : This research is a phase II randomized trial comparing the effectiveness and safety of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) versus epirubicin as adjuvant chemotherapy for stage I-II HER2-negative breast cancer.
  • Methods and Results
  • : A total of 256 patients were divided into two groups, with results showing no significant difference in 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates between PLD and epirubicin. However, the PLD group experienced less severe side effects and improved quality of life (QoL) during treatment.
  • Conclusion
  • : Both treatment regimens showed comparable efficacy and safety, but the
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  • The study introduces a new "scarless" technique for implanting Totally Implantable Venous Access Ports (TIVAP) in breast cancer patients, aimed at preserving cosmetic results after surgery.
  • A total of 125 patients underwent the procedure with a 100% success rate, a mean operation time of 46 minutes, and low blood loss, while also showing a significant decrease in operation time after the initial learning phase.
  • Patient feedback indicated over 90% satisfaction with aesthetic outcomes and the overall surgical experience, suggesting that the scarless technique is a safe and effective alternative for those needing chemotherapy with minimal scarring.
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  • A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of minimal-access nipple-sparing mastectomy (MA-NSM) in patients with large breasts, as previously it was mostly applied to those with small to medium-sized breasts.
  • This retrospective analysis included data from 728 patients between 2011 and 2022, comparing outcomes of conventional nipple-sparing mastectomy (C-NSM) with MA-NSM, focusing on complications and blood loss based on breast size.
  • Results showed that MA-NSM was successful in large breasts, with less blood loss and lower rates of severe complications compared to C-NSM, indicating that MA-NSM is a viable option for this patient demographic.
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  • Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is the standard procedure for assessing axillary metastasis in early-stage breast cancer patients with up to 2 positive nodes; this study evaluates the effectiveness of 18F-FDG PET/CT and breast MRI in detecting these metastases.
  • The study involved 275 patients, analyzing the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of PET/CT and MRI; results showed that combined imaging methods significantly improved the ability to predict axillary lymph node burden compared to each method alone.
  • Both PET/CT and MRI demonstrated valuable predictive capabilities for low-burden axillary metastasis, with the highest predictive correctness achieved when both imaging techniques were used together, indicating a strong reliability
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  • * Over four years, 145 patients underwent this procedure, primarily involving nipple-sparing mastectomies and some breast-conserving surgeries, with differing operative times and minimal blood loss reported.
  • * While the procedure showed some complications, the majority of patients reported satisfactory cosmetic results, indicating a promising approach for breast surgery.
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Background: Radiotherapy (RT) following breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is mainly used to decrease the rate of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) in women with breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Recent studies have demonstrated that low-dose tamoxifen significantly reduces IBTR in breast DCIS. Here, we aim to determine whether the administration of low-dose tamoxifen is non-inferior to RT in preventing IBTR in patients with low-risk characteristics of breast DCIS.

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  • The study investigates how effective MRI is in evaluating axillary lymph node (ALN) metastasis in breast cancer patients, particularly across different intrinsic tumor subtypes.
  • Analysis included data from 2,473 patients and found that MRI's ability to detect ALN metastasis significantly differed among subtypes, with tumor size and histologic type being key predictive factors.
  • The research suggests that using MRI along with clinicopathologic factors can enhance the prediction of ALN metastasis risk, identifying low-risk groups that might benefit from less aggressive treatment.
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  • The study evaluated nipple and skin sensation after nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) to identify factors influencing these sensations.
  • A total of 460 patients were analyzed, with a mean age of 48.3, highlighting various surgical methods used (conventional, endoscopic, robotic) and their impact on sensation outcomes.
  • Results indicated that longer postoperative follow-up significantly improved nipple and skin sensations, particularly with specific incision types showing better outcomes.
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  • The study addressed the potential risks of residual breast tissue (RBT) after robotic-assisted nipple-sparing mastectomy (R-NSM) in breast cancer patients.
  • MRI scans were used on 105 patients to evaluate RBT presence and location, with 43 patients' scans analyzed post-surgery.
  • RBT was found in 13% of mastectomies, mainly behind the nipple-areolar complex, but overall, R-NSM did not significantly increase RBT prevalence, and MRI proved effective for its evaluation.
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Breast cancer is a severe public health problem, and early treatment with powerful anticancer drugs is critical for success. The researchers investigated the clinical results of a novel screening tool termed Microtube Array Membrane Hollow Fiber Assay (MTAM-HFA) in breast cancer patients in this clinical investigation. In all trial participants, the MTAM-HFA was utilized to identify active medicines for the treatment of breast cancer.

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  • The study compares outcomes of minimal access nipple-sparing mastectomy (R-NSM, E-NSM) to conventional nipple-sparing mastectomy (C-NSM) in terms of clinical results, patient satisfaction, and costs.
  • Both R-NSM and E-NSM showed better wound healing and patient-reported satisfaction with scars, although R-NSM incurred higher medical costs compared to the other two methods.
  • All three procedures demonstrated comparable safety concerning complications and oncological outcomes, indicating minimal access approaches are safe alternatives to conventional surgery.
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  • Breast reconstruction after mastectomy can significantly enhance the quality of life for breast cancer patients and is often performed by a dual-trained oncoplastic reconstructive breast surgeon (ORBS) alongside breast surgeons.
  • The study reviewed 542 patients treated with reconstruction by an ORBS, revealing high satisfaction rates (95%) and low implant loss (1.2%), indicating successful outcomes and improved skills over time.
  • Factors influencing the likelihood of undergoing reconstruction included younger age, the use of MRI, nipple-sparing mastectomy, and experiences with high-volume surgeons.
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Background: The purpose of this study is to identify clinicopathologic factors and/or preoperative MRI vascular patterns in the prediction of ischemia necrosis of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) or skin flap post nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM).

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 441 NSM procedures from January 2011 to September 2021 from the breast cancer database at our institution. The ischemia necrosis of NAC or skin flap was evaluated in correlation with clinicopathologic factors and types of skin incision.

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Increasing mitochondrial fusion by intra-tumoral grafting of membrane-fused mitochondria created with Pep-1 conjugation (P-Mito) contributes to breast cancer treatment, but it needs to be validated. Using mitochondrial division inhibitor-1 (Mdivi-1, Mdi) to disturb mitochondrial dynamics, we showed that the antitumor action of P-Mito in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer depends upon mitochondrial fusion and that Mdi treatment alone is ineffective. P-Mito significantly enhanced Doxorubicin (Dox) sensitivity by inducing mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy, and the same efficiency was also achieved with Mdi by inhibiting mitophagy.

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Background: The prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is worse and a major proportion of TNBC expresses epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Afatinib can inhibit EGFR signal pathway; however, its treatment effect for TNBC is unknown. Thus, we aimed to assess the efficacy and biomarkers of afatinib in combination with paclitaxel in a neoadjuvant setting.

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Background: We hypothesized that different BMI might have different impact on pre-operative MRI axillary lymph node (ALN) prediction accuracy and thereby subsequent surgical lymph node management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of BMI on presentation, surgical treatment, and MRI performance characteristics of breast cancer with the main focus on ALN metastasis evaluation.

Methods: The medical records of patients with primary invasive breast cancer who had pre-operative breast MRI and underwent surgical resection were retrospectively reviewed.

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  • MABS (Minimal Access Breast Surgery) like EABS (Endoscopic Assisted Breast Surgery) and RABS (Robotic Assisted Breast Surgery) is gaining popularity for treating breast cancer due to its smaller incisions and reduced scarring compared to traditional methods.
  • A study on 824 patients revealed that from 2011 to 2020, MABS procedures increased significantly, with similar outcomes to conventional breast surgery in terms of operation time, surgical margins, and recurrence rates.
  • While R-NSM (Robotic Assisted Nipple Sparing Mastectomy) was the most expensive option, MABS generally maintained a comparable safety profile to conventional surgery, making it a viable choice for breast cancer patients.
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Background: Women with unilateral breast cancer are at an increased risk for the development of contralateral breast cancers. We hypothesis that combined breast MRI would detect more contralateral synchronous breast cancer than conventional imaging alone, and resulted in less contralateral metachronous breast cancer during follow-up.

Methods: We retrospectively collected two groups of breast cancer patients diagnosed from 2009 to 2013 for evaluating the effectiveness and value of adding pre-operative breast MRI to conventional breast images (mammography and sonography) for detection of contralateral synchronous breast cancer.

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Purpose: Neratinib, an irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has demonstrated systemic efficacy and intracranial activity in various stages of HER2+breast cancer. NALA was a phase III randomized trial that assessed the efficacy and safety of neratinib+capecitabine (N+C) against lapatinib+capecitabine (L+C) in HER2+ metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients who had received ≥ 2 HER2-directed regimens. Descriptive analysis results of the Asian subgroup in the NALA study are reported herein.

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Background: The optimal axillary lymph node (ALN) management strategy in patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) preoperatively remains controversial. The value of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict ALN metastasis pre-operative DCIS patients was evaluated.

Methods: Patients with primary DCIS with or without pre-operative breast MRI evaluation and underwent breast surgery were recruited from single institution.

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Rationale: Gynecomastia is a common benign breast disorder in men. Surgical management of gynecomastia includes that of a subcutaneous mastectomy with or without concurrent liposuction. Herein, the authors presented a case of complicated gynecomastia (gynecomastia with concurrent foreign body injection) which was successfully managed with an innovative technique that offered acceptable operative time, minimal complications, good recovery and satisfactory aesthetic outcome.

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Background: Endoscopy-assisted breast surgery (EABS) performed through minimal axillary and/or peri-areolar incisions is a possible alternative to conventional breast surgery (CBS) for certain patients with breast cancer. In this study, we report the oncologic safety results of EABS compared with CBS.

Methods: Patients underwent EABS for breast cancer during the period June 2010 to March 2020 were collected from the EABS database from single institute, and another cohort of patients, who received CBS, were identified to determine the effectiveness and oncologic safety of EABS.

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Background: The preliminary results of an innovative surgical technique, which incorporated single-port three-dimensional (3D) videoscope and instruments for endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy (E-NSM), were reported.

Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent single-port 3D E-NSM for breast cancer from August 2018 to September 2020 were analyzed, and the preliminary outcome of this procedure as well as the patient-reported aesthetic results are described in this article.

Results: The study enrolled 70 patients who received 80 procedures of single-port 3D E-NSM.

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