Microinvasive breast cancer and the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Whether sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) should be performed in patients with microinvasive breast cancer (MIBC) has been a matter of debate over the last decade. MIBC has a favorable prognosis and while metastasis to the axilla is rare, it can impact treatment recommendations. In this study we evaluated clinical and histological features in both MIBC and background DCIS including ER, PR, and HER-2, number of foci of MIBC, the extent of the DCIS, nuclear grade, presence of comedo necrosis, as well as surgical procedures, adjuvant treatment and follow up to identify variables which predict disease free survival (DFS), as well as the factors which influence clinical decision making.

Stromal ColXα1 expression correlates with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and predicts adjuvant therapy outcome in ER-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer.

Background: The breast cancer microenvironment contributes to tumor progression and response to chemotherapy. Previously, we reported that increased stromal Type X collagen α1 (ColXα1) and low TILs correlated with poor pathologic response to neoadjuvant therapy in estrogen receptor and HER2-positive (ER+/HER2+) breast cancer. Here, we investigate the relationship of ColXα1 and long-term outcome of ER+/HER2+ breast cancer patients in an adjuvant setting.

Distress: Characterizing What Causes the Thermometer to Shift in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Attending a Multidisciplinary Clinic.

Background: A diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) can result in multifactorial stress. If not addressed, distress can have a negative impact on outcomes. The experience of patients with newly diagnosed BC has not been sufficiently investigated.

Three-Dimensional Bioabsorbable Tissue Marker Placement is Associated with Decreased Tumor Bed Volume Among Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer.

Purpose: BioZorb (Focal Therapeutics, Aliso Viejo, CA) is an implantable 3-dimensional bioabsorbable marker used for tumor bed volume (TBV) identification during postoperative radiation therapy (RT) planning. We aimed to calculate and compare RT TBVs between two cohorts managed with and without the device.

Methods And Materials: Data from patients with breast cancer who were treated at Rhode Island Hosptial, Providence RI between May 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016 were retrospectively reviewed and grouped based on 3-dimensional bioabsorbable marker placement.

Five fraction accelerated partial breast irradiation using noninvasive image-guided breast brachytherapy: Feasibility and acute toxicity.

Purpose: To improve efficiency, convenience, and cost, a prospective phase II trial was initiated to evaluate accelerated partial breast irradiation delivered with noninvasive image-guided breast brachytherapy (NIBB) via five once-daily fractions.

Methods And Materials: Women ≥50 years old with early-stage breast cancer undergoing breast conserving surgery were enrolled. Eligibility criteria included invasive carcinoma ≤2.

Can Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Be Spared in Papillary Carcinoma of the Breast?

Background: Papillary carcinoma (PC) of the breast represents ∼0.5% of all newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer and usually has an indolent course. The current data suggest lack of a consensus in the surgical management of this disease.

Identification of stromal ColXα1 and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as putative predictive markers of neoadjuvant therapy in estrogen receptor-positive/HER2-positive breast cancer.

Background: The influence of the tumor microenvironment and tumor-stromal interactions on the heterogeneity of response within breast cancer subtypes have just begun to be explored. This study focuses on patients with estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (ER+/HER2+) breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and HER2-targeted therapy (NAC+H), and was designed to identify novel predictive biomarkers by combining gene expression analysis and immunohistochemistry with pathologic response.

Methods: We performed gene expression profiling on pre-NAC+H tumor samples from responding (no or minimal residual disease at surgery) and non-responding patients.

The rationale, technique, and feasibility of partial breast irradiation using noninvasive image-guided breast brachytherapy.

Purpose: Noninvasive image-guided breast brachytherapy (NIBB) is a novel approach to deliver accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). NIBB is noninvasive, yet maintains a high degree of precision by using breast immobilization and image guidance. This makes NIBB an attractive alternative to existing APBI techniques.

Axillary ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration in the preoperative evaluation of the breast cancer patient: an algorithm based on tumor size and lymph node appearance.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the utility of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients depending on the size of the primary tumor and the appearance of the lymph nodes.

Subjects And Methods: Data were collected about tumor size, lymph node appearance, and the results of ultrasound-guided FNA and axillary surgery of 224 patients with breast cancer undergoing 226 ultrasound-guided FNA. Lymph nodes were classified as benign if the cortex was even and measured < 3 mm, indeterminate if the cortex was even but measured ≥ 3 mm or measured < 3 mm but was focally thickened, and suspicious if the cortex was focally thickened and measured ≥ 3 mm or the fatty hilum was absent.

Frequent pathologic complete responses in aggressive stages II to III breast cancers with every-4-week carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel with or without trastuzumab: a Brown University Oncology Group Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant carboplatin and weekly paclitaxel +/- weekly trastuzumab in resectable and locally advanced breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Women with stages IIA to IIIB disease received carboplatin dosed by six times the area under the curve every 4 weeks and paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2) weekly for 16 weeks, and weekly trastuzumab was added for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) -positive status. The primary end point was the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, defined as the absence of invasive disease in the breast and axillary nodes.

Preliminary results of a phase I/II study of HDR brachytherapy alone for T1/T2 breast cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility, toxicity, cosmetic outcome, and local control of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy alone without whole breast external beam irradiation for early-stage breast carcinoma.

Methods And Materials: Between June 1997 and August 1999, 32 women diagnosed with a total of 33 AJCC Stage I/II breast carcinomas underwent surgical breast excision and postoperative irradiation using HDR brachytherapy interstitial implantation as part of a multi-institutional clinical Phase I/II protocol. Eligible patients included those with T1, T2, N0, N1 (< or =3 nodes positive), and M0 tumors of nonlobular histologic features with negative surgical margins, no extracapsular lymph node extension, and a negative postexcision mammogram.