Amanda L. Kong

Lumpectomy margins, reexcision, and local recurrence of breast cancer

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of breast cancer is often made by excisional biopsy without margin assessment for mammographic findings or palpable masses. Many patients treated with breast conservation undergo reexcision to obtain clear margins although the relationship between clear margins and local recurrence remains controversial. METHODS Patients undergoing breast conservation and adjuvant radiation therapy with complete follow-up over 5 years were studied. Factors associated with obtaining clear histopathologic margins and undergoing reexcision to obtain clear margins were studied in relation to the risk of local recurrence. RESULTS Clear biopsy margins were associated with diagnosis by fine-needle aspiration cytology (fine-needle aspiration 42%, spot localization 11%, excisional biopsy 10%; P <0.001). Reexcision was significantly related to diagnostic method (spot localization 63%, excisional biopsy 36%, fine-needle aspiration 10%; P <0.001), first margin status (clear 0%, close 11%, positive 46%, unknown 48%; P <0.001), patient age (54 years for reexcised patients and 58 for non-reexcised patients; P <0.001), and tumor size (mean tumor size 1. 4 cm for reexcised patients and 1.7 cm for non-reexcised patients; P = 0.003). Patients undergoing reexcision were significantly more likely to be diagnosed by spot localization, have nonnegative excisional biopsy margins, be younger, and have smaller tumors than patients not undergoing reexcision. Local recurrence was not significantly related to margin status (8% with clear margins, 7% with positive margins, 19% with close margins, and 11% with unknown margins) or reexcision (10% local recurrence rate for patients with negative final margins after reexcision and 12% with positive, close or unknown first margin without reexcision). Estrogen receptor status was the only variable related to local recurrence in Cox proportional hazards model (P = 0.009). Estrogen receptor negative patients with nonnegative margins experienced a 20% rate of local recurrence compared with 10% for estrogen receptor negative patients with negative margins and 7% for estrogen receptor positive patients regardless of margin status (P = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS Clear excision margins are facilitated by preoperative diagnosis by fine-needle cytology. For patients with nonnegative margins, reexcision was more commonly performed in young patients with small tumors diagnosed by spot localization biopsy. The relationship of local recurrence to margins and reexcision was not statistically significant. Estrogen receptor negative tumors with nonnegative margins had a significantly higher rate of local recurrence than estrogen receptor negative tumors with clear margins and estrogen receptor positive tumors regardless of margin status.

Risk reduction and survival benefit of prophylactic surgery in BRCA mutation carriers, a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes results in an elevated risk for developing both breast and ovarian cancers over the lifetime of affected carriers. General surgeons may be faced with questions about surgical risk reduction and survival benefit of prophylactic surgery. METHODS A systematic literature review was performed using the electronic databases PubMed, OVID MEDLINE, and Scopus comparing prophylactic surgery vs observation with respect to breast and ovarian cancer risk reduction and mortality in BRCA mutation carriers. RESULTS Bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy provides a 90% to 95% risk reduction in BRCA mutation carriers, although the data do not demonstrate improved mortality. The reduction in ovarian and breast cancer risks using risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy has translated to improvement in survival. CONCLUSIONS Clinical management of patients at increased risk for breast cancer requires consideration of risk, patient preference, and quality of life.

Impact of internal mammary lymph node drainage identified by preoperative lymphoscintigraphy on outcomes in patients with stage I to III breast cancer.

Involvement of internal mammary (IM) lymph nodes is associated with a poor prognosis for patients with breast cancer. This study examined the effect of drainage to IM nodes identified by lymphoscintigraphy on oncologic outcomes.

Identifying patterns of breast cancer care provided at high-volume hospitals: a classification and regression tree analysis.

There is a growing body of literature linking hospital volume to outcomes in breast cancer. However, the mechanism through which volume influences outcome is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hospital volume of breast cancer cases and patterns of processes of care in a population-based cohort of Medicare patients. A previously described and validated algorithm was applied to Medicare claims for newly diagnosed breast cancer cases in 2003 to identify potential subjects. Breast cancer patients were recruited to participate in a survey study examining breast cancer outcomes, and data were merged with Medicare claims and state tumor registries. Hospital volume was divided into tertiles. A Classification and Regression Tree (CART) model was performed to look for statistically significant relationships between patterns of processes of care and hospital volume. Using CART analysis, eight patterns of care were identified that differentiated breast cancer care at high- versus low-volume hospitals. Sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) was the single process of care that demonstrated the greatest differentiation across hospitals with differing volumes. Four patterns of care significantly predicted that a patient was less likely to be treated at a high-volume hospital. Our study demonstrates differences in patterns of processes of care between low- and high-volume hospitals. Hospital volume was associated with several patterns of care that reflect the most current standards of care, particularly SLND. Greater adoption of these patterns by low-volume hospitals could improve the overall quality of care for breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node dissection is technically feasible in older breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggested that sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification rates are lower in older breast cancer patients. This study was undertaken to compare identification rates in patients 70 years of age and older versus those younger than 70 years in a large cohort undergoing sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND). STUDY DESIGN Patients undergoing SLND between August 1993 and December 2006 were identified and grouped by age. Clinicopathologic data and details regarding the procedure were reviewed. RESULTS Of the 3995 patients undergoing SLND, 3406 (85.3%) were under 70 years of age, and 589 (14.7%) were 70 years or older. Age was significantly associated with clinical stage (P = .001) and tumor grade (P < .0001). A greater proportion in the older group had clinical stage I disease (74.7% vs. 66.8%), and a lower proportion had grade 3 tumors (24.0% vs. 36.1%). There were no significant differences by age in the mapping method or site of injection. Overall SLN identification rate was 97.2% and did not differ significantly by age. The SLN was positive in 23.1% of younger patients and 18.2% of older patients (P = .01). CONCLUSION Sentinel lymph node dissection can be performed with high identification rates regardless of patient age. Breast cancer patients 70 years and older with clinically negative axillary lymph nodes should be offered SLND, as the presence of lymph node metastasis may alter adjuvant therapy recommendations.

Desmoplastic amelanotic melanoma in an irradiated burn scar.

Jin K. Chun, MD, Elan Singer, MD, Amanda Kong, MD, Robert Phelps, MD, and Christina Weltz, MD, have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy: An Overview

The original concept of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is attributed to Cabanas, who described use of the technique for the treatment and staging of penile cancer. The concept of SLNB was revived 15 years later by Morton et al., in their work using lymphatic mapping with blue dye in patients with melanoma. Ultimately, Alex and Krag introduced use of the gamma probe with radioactive colloid injections, and Giuliano et al. applied SLNB with blue-dye-based lymphatic mapping to breast surgery, influencing the techniques we use today. Sentinel node biopsy is now considered the standard of care in managing the axilla in patients with clinically negative regional nodes.

Fractures in a nationwide population-based cohort of users of breast cancer hormonal therapy

PurposeAlthough users of aromatase inhibitors have higher total fracture risk in some randomized trials, little is known about their risk outside of clinical trials or in older higher-risk cohorts.MethodsIn a population-based retrospective cohort study, we identified all older US Medicare D prescription drug insurance plan-enrolled women who had initial breast cancer surgery in 2006–2008 and began hormonal therapy (an aromatase inhibitor (AI) or tamoxifen) within the subsequent year. Total nonvertebral and hip fractures through 2012 were identified using a validated algorithm. The association of fracture outcomes with hormonal therapy type was assessed using competing risk regression models that accounted for differences in measured baseline covariates. Treatment assignment bias was reduced using inverse probability of treatment weighting computed from propensity scores.ResultsAmong 23,378 women taking hormonal therapy (23.2% aged 80 or over), there were 3000 total and 436 hip fractures. Although AI users were younger and had lower comorbidity, after propensity score weighting, these and other covariates were balanced. Total nonvertebral risk was higher for users of AIs compared with tamoxifen, HR 1.11 (1.02–1.21), but the small increase in risk for hip fracture was not statistically significant, HR 1.04 (0.84–1.30).ConclusionsAlthough total nonvertebral fracture risk was higher among AI users, differences in hip fractures were not significant in a large population-based cohort of older women.Implications for Cancer SurvivorsUse of aromatase inhibitors by older women is associated with high risk for nonvertebral fracture that is increased compared with use of tamoxifen. Fracture risk should be assessed among patients taking these medications.

Management of the axilla after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: Sentinel node biopsy and radiotherapy considerations

Preoperative or neo‐adjuvant chemotherapy in the management of breast cancer is a treatment approach that has gained in popularity in recent years. However, it is unclear if the treatment paradigms often employed for patients treated with surgery first hold true for those treated with preoperative chemotherapy. The role of sentinel node biopsy and the data supporting its use is different for those with clinically negative and clinically positive nodes prior to chemotherapy. For clinically node‐negative patients, sentinel node biopsy after neo‐adjuvant chemotherapy may be appropriate. For those node‐positive patients whose axillary disease resolves clinically, the false‐negative rate of the sentinel node biopsy is high. However, there are measures that can reduce that rate. After surgery, the radiation oncologist is often faced with complicated decisions surrounding the optimal radiotherapy in this setting. Tailoring radiation plans based on chemotherapy response holds promise and is the subject of ongoing clinical trials. In the accompanying article, we review the current literature on both surgery and radiation in axillary management and describe the interplay between these two treatment modalities. This highlights the need for multidisciplinary management in making treatment decisions for patients treated in this manner.

Identifying patterns of breast cancer care provided at high volume hospitals: A classification and regression tree analysis.

69 Background: There is a growing body of literature linking hospital volume to outcomes in breast cancer. However, the mechanism through which volume influences outcome is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between hospital volume of breast cancer cases and patterns of processes of care in a population-based cohort of Medicare patients. METHODS A previously described and validated algorithm was applied to Medicare claims for newly diagnosed breast cancer cases in 2003 to identify potential subjects. Breast cancer patients were recruited to participate in a survey study examining breast cancer outcomes, and data was merged with Medicare claims and state tumor registries. Hospital volume was divided into tertiles. A Classification and Regression Tree (CART) model was performed to look for statistically significant relationships between patterns of processes of care and hospital volume. RESULTS Using CART analysis, eight patterns of care were identified that differentiated breast cancer care at high versus low volume hospitals. Sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) was the single process of care that demonstrated the greatest differentiation across hospitals with differing volumes. Four patterns of care significantly predicted that a patient was less likely to be treated at a high volume hospital. CONCLUSIONS Our study demonstrates differences in patterns of processes of care between low and high volume hospitals. Hospital volume was associated with several patterns of care that reflect the most current standards of care, particularly SLND. Greater adoption of these patterns by low volume hospitals could improve the overall quality of care for breast cancer.