Targeted breast surgery: Non-direct approach.

Abstract

e12602 Background: Breast conserving surgery is the standard in T1-T3 primary breast cancer. The cosmetic result is very much depending upon the surgeon ́s experience, the tumor-size/breast ratio and the technique applied. We have proposed a nomogram earlier (1) which has been cited earlier by the American Society of Breast Surgeons Consensus Conference as a concept for avoidance of re-excisions and achievement of a favorable aesthetic result. Our nomogram proposed 5 simple oncoplastic techniques to handle the vast majority of breast cancer cases, with high rates of free margins. However, these techniques all used direct access to the mammary gland through the skin above the tumor, leaving permanent scars in the visible skin of the breast. To avoid this, we now have chosen a more natural access to the mammary gland along natural transitions and Langerhans´s skin lines in this prospective open-label study. Methods: We conducted a prospective open-arm study including all primary invasive and non-invasive breast cancer cases of tumor stages AJCC 0-III A (Version 8.0). Non-palbable tumors and those undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy had to be marked by a wire and clipped before. Intraoperative ultrasound was applied before skin incision and after removal of the tumor including ultrasound of the specimen to confirm clear margins). Resection was performed as a segmentectomy and SLN biopsy and axillary clearance was done according to national guidelines. Access to the tumor was chosen in a non-direct approach according to the proximity of the tumor to one of the following natural transitions: 1. areola 2. axillary line 3. inframammary fold. Results: 84 patients with breast conserving targeted breast surgery with a non-direct to the tumor approach have been enrolled so far. 76 patients had primary surgery with stage distribution as follows: Tis (1), T1a (3), T1b (8), T1c (30), T2 (30), T3 (4) and T4b(1). 8 patients had neoadjuvant chemotherapy with stage distribution as follows: ypT0 (3), ypT1a (2), ypT1c (1) and ypT2 (2). Histopathology was predominantly invasive-ductal breast cancer (70), followed by invasive-lobular (6), ductulo-lobular (5), invasive- ductal and pure DCIS (1), invasive-ductal and mucinous (1) and mucinous only (1). After first surgery according to our nomogram 77 patients had a tumor resection with free margins and 7 with involved margins, thus 91,6 % tumors were resected with free margins at first surgery. The remaining 8,4 % of cases were margin-free after second surgery. Conclusions: Scars were not visible on the surface of the breast outside of natural transitions and rate of free margins was high with targeted breast surgery at a rate of 91,6 % without any cosmetic impairment due to the remote natural access to the mammary gland. Patient-reported outcome in detail has been evaluated by validated questionnaires and demonstrated a high satisfaction with scar pattern, volume and symmetry.