HER2-low metastases of HER2-negative primary tumors: a single institution analysis of intertumoral and internodal heterogeneity in node-positive breast cancer.

Objective: HER2 status in breast cancer is an essential parameter in individual therapeutic decision-making and is routinely assessed in primary tumors in accordance with international recommendations. Reports of HER2 heterogeneity raise the question of basing treatment decisions on HER2 status in metastases, if present. We investigated the degree and clinical implications of HER2 heterogeneity in lymph node-positive breast cancer.

Integrative meta-analysis of gene expression profiles identifies FEN1 and ENDOU as potential diagnostic biomarkers for cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Cervical carcinoma is a global public health burden. Given that it is usually asymptomatic at potentially curative stages, the development of clinically accurate tests is critical for early detection and individual risk stratification. The present study performed an integrative meta-analysis of the transcriptomes from 10 cervical carcinoma cohorts, with the aim of identifying biomarkers that are associated with malignant transformation of cervical epithelium, and establish their clinical applicability.

The clinical value of detecting microcalcifications on a mammogram.

Many breast lesions are associated with microcalcifications that are detectable by mammography. In most cases, radiologists are able to distinguish calcifications usually associated with benign diseases from those associated with malignancy. In addition to their value in the early detection of breast carcinoma and accurate radiological diagnosis, the presence of microcalcifications often affects the extent of surgical intervention.

The subgross morphology of breast carcinomas: a single-institution series of 2033 consecutive cases documented in large-format histology slides.

A large-format histology technique represents the most convenient method for documenting and assessing the subgross morphological prognostic parameters of breast cancer (i.e., the distribution of the tumor's invasive and in situ components, disease extent, and tumor size), especially when used in conjunction with systematic radiological-pathological correlation.

Imaging Biomarkers as Predictors for Breast Cancer Death.

Background: To differentiate the risk of breast cancer death in a longitudinal cohort using imaging biomarkers of tumor extent and biology, specifically, the mammographic appearance, basal phenotype, histologic tumor distribution, and conventional tumor attributes.

Methods: Using a prospective cohort study design, 498 invasive breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1996 and 1998 were used as the test cohort to assess the independent effects of the imaging biomarkers and other predictors on the risk of breast cancer death. External validation was performed with a cohort of 848 patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2010.

The sick lobe hypothesis, field cancerisation and the new era of precision breast surgery.

Understanding the ductal anatomy of the breast provides insights into tumorigenesis, which in turn offers guidance on therapeutic decisions. In this regard, the sick lobe hypothesis, which states that cancer arises from genetically unstable cells through mutations acquired in utero, forms the basis of malignant transformation. These 'at risk' cells line the mammary ductal-lobular system of a single 'sick' lobe and when exposed to noxious events in the surrounding microenvironment, further genetic changes occur which completes conversion to malignancy, in certain defined patterns.

Eccrine ductal and acrosyringeal metaplasia in breast carcinomas: report of eight cases.

Eccrine ductal and acrosyringeal metaplasia was described in 2006 as the presence of tumor structures that resemble the epithelium of the eccrine skin ducts and their opening within the epidermis, the acrosyringeum. Here, we report the clinical, morphological, and phenotypic characteristics of eight breast carcinomas that we collected over the past years showing this metaplasia. Unlike squamous metaplasia, acrosyringeal and eccrine ductal metaplasia are luminated structures comprising cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm that are easily detectable in routine histological slides.

Equivocal (HER2 IHC 2+) breast carcinomas: gene-protein assay testing reveals association between genetic heterogeneity, individual cell amplification status and potential treatment benefits.

Aims: Genetic heterogeneity can pose a challenge to identifying eligible cases for targeted therapy in the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) immunohistochemistry (IHC) 2+ breast carcinoma group. In this study, we characterised this subset of tumours according to clinicopathological parameters.

Methods And Results: We assessed 1000 tumour cells per case and recorded the number of HER2 and chromosome enumeration probe 17 (CEP17) copies using gene-protein assay slides.

Integrating anatomy, radiology, pathology, and surgery: An alternative approach in resecting multifocal and multicentric breast carcinoma.

The sick lobe hypothesis provides the basis for a lobar approach in radiology, pathology, and surgical treatment of breast cancer. This approach aims to remove the tumor together with the surrounding field of genetic aberrations. Detailed preoperative lobar imaging that properly maps the disease and assesses its extent guides the parenchymal resection.

Diffuse invasive breast carcinoma of no special type.

Diffuse invasive breast carcinomas are rare tumors associated with unfavorable prognostic parameters. This growth pattern is often related to invasive lobular cancer (ILC). Diffuse ductal breast carcinoma of no special type (NST) is largely under-recognized in the literature.

Lightscanning versus mammography for the detection of breast cancer in screening and clinical practice. A Swedish multicenter study.

State of the art lightscanning of the breast was tested against mammography in 2568 women in a Swedish multicenter study. The study was in two parts. One was in women with symptoms from the breasts (the clinical study) comprising 3178 examined breasts with 198 cancers; the other in asymptomatic women (the screening study) comprising 1909 examined breasts with 126 cancers.