Routine Use of a Standardized Mastectomy Diagram by Surgeons Improves Accuracy and Timeliness of the Final Pathological Report.

Background: Accurate and timely assessment of pathology specimens is critical for patient care and oncologic management. This study aimed to determine whether a standardized mastectomy diagram would facilitate communication among surgeons and pathologists and improve pathologic processing.

Methods: A prospective quality improvement study was conducted over a continuous 12-month period.

Cystic neutrophilic granulomatous mastitis: A clinicopathologic study of a distinct entity with supporting evidence of a role for Corynebacterium-targeted therapy.

Cystic neutrophilic granulomatous mastitis (CNGM) is a distinct histopathologic entity characterized by neutrophilic and granulomatous inflammation surrounding clear cystic spaces. Rare gram-positive bacilli are sometimes identified within these cystic spaces. Studies in the literature have identified these gram-positive bacilli to be Corynebacterium species.

Biomarker modulation following short-term vorinostat in women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer.

Purpose: Agents that target the epigenome show activity in breast cancer models. In preclinical studies, the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat induces cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and differentiation. We evaluated biomarker modulation in breast cancer tissues obtained from women with newly diagnosed invasive disease who received vorinostat and those who did not.

Prognostic implications of isolated tumor cells and micrometastases in sentinel nodes of patients with invasive breast cancer: 10-year analysis of patients enrolled in the prospective East Carolina University/Anne Arundel Medical Center Sentinel Node Multicenter Study.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a more sensitive and accurate nodal staging procedure than axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Because of increased pathologic evaluation in the sentinel node era, more nodal micrometastases (MIC) (> 0.2 mm to 2 mm) and isolated tumor cells (ITC; < or = 0.

Pilot clinical trial of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission mammography in the surgical management of breast cancer.

Background: High-resolution positron-emission mammography (PEM) is a new device, which allows the imaging of breast tissue. A prospective study was performed to assess the accuracy of PEM in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

Methods: In a prospective multicenter study, 44 women with confirmed breast cancers were imaged with a high-resolution PEM scanner (Naviscan PET Systems, Rockville, MD) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose.