Meral Kurt

Factors influencing axillary node metastasis in breast cancer.

Aims and Background The status of the axillary lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis has been accepted as one of the most important prognostic factors for the overall and disease-free survival of patients with breast cancer. The aim of our study was to determine which factors influence axillary node involvement in invasive breast cancer. Methods The data presented here were obtained from 344 patients who were treated for invasive breast cancer at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Uludag University Medical College, Bursa, Turkey. Possible prognostic factors were categorized as patient related and tumor related. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for univariate analysis and logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. Results In univariate analysis, a familial cancer history (P = 0.0042), age <40 years (P = 0.0276), higher T stage (P <0.0000), nipple involvement (P = 0.0345), skin involvement (P = 0.0270), perineural invasion (P = 0.0231), and lymphatic vessel invasion (P <0.0000) were correlated with increased axillary node involvement. A higher incidence of ≥4 involved lymph nodes was associated with higher T stage (P = 0.0004), nipple involvement (P = 0.0292), presence of an extensive intraductal component (P = 0.0023), skin involvement (P = 0.0008), perineural invasion (P = 0.0523), and lymphatic vessel invasion (P <0.0000) in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, age <40 years (P = 0.0454), cancer history within the family (P = 0.0024), higher T stage (P = 0.0339), lymphatic vessel invasion (P = 0.0003), and perineural invasion (P = 0.0408) were found to be independent factors for axillary lymph node positivity. Age <40 years (P = 0.0221), perineural invasion (P = 0.0408), and an extensive intraductal component (P = 0.0132) were associated with an increased incidence of ≥4 involved nodes in the logistic regression analysis. In patients with breast cancer, the incidence of axillary lymph node involvement was independently influenced by age <40 years, presence of cancer history within the family, higher T stage, lymphatic vessel invasion, and perineural invasion. Conclusions In conclusion, absence of familial cancer history, presence of lymphatic vessel invasion, higher T stage, and age below 40 years independently increased the risk of axillary node involvement. Presence of perineural invasion and lymphatic vessel invasion, age below 40, and an extensive intraductal component of more than 25% independently affected the risk of having ≥4 nodes involved. Patients characterized by these factors may be classified into a higher risk group for nodal involvement, but more data are needed to define factors that can help in the decision-making regarding the omission of axillary treatment.

Carcinoma originating from aberrant breast tissue. A case report and review of the literature

Carcinoma arising from ectopic breast tissue, either supernumerary breast or aberrant breast tissue, is extremely rare. Carcinoma occurs more frequently in the ectopic breast tissue of the axilla than in extra-axillary ectopic breast tissue. Here we report a case of an invasive lobular carcinoma arising from extra-axillary ectopic breast tissue and presenting as a subcutaneous nodule.

Extramedullary Plasmacytoma Involving the Abdominal Vessels and Pancreas

To the Editor: We read with great interest the article by Attwell and colleagues [1] in a recent issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences that described a case of IgA multiple myeloma (MM) involving two unusual extramedullary sites: the porta hepatis and peritoneum. The involvement of abdominal vessels and pancreas by plasma cell neoplasms is very rare and usually diagnosed at autopsy [1–3]. We would like to describe and share our experience in a patient with known MM who developed plasmacytoma on the chest wall and in the abdomen involving the abdominal vessels and pancreas, without concurrent relapse of the disease, and to add some points concerning the treatment of extramedullary plasmacytomas (EMP). A 64-year-old-man was diagnosed to have stage II MM of the IgA(λ) subtype in 2001. He was given a chemotherapy regimen with six courses of melphalan and prednisolone and achieved a plateau phase. In 2002, at the sixth month of the

The evaluation of bcl-2 expression as a prognostic marker in early stage laryngeal cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND To evaluate the effect of bcl-2 expression on the local control and overall survival of patients with early stage laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy alone. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN We included 53 patients with stage Tis, T1, and T2 laryngeal cancer who were irradiated in our department. Paraffin blocks of all biopsy specimens were subjected to immunohistochemical analysis with a bcl-2 oncoprotein mouse clone 124 Scytek kit. RESULTS The mean follow-up time was 61 months (range, 7-166). Local-regional recurrence was observed in 10 (19%) patients. Forty-three patients (81%) had negative bcl-2 staining, 5 patients (9%) had + staining, 3 patients (6%) ++ staining, and 2 patients (4%) +++ staining. No relationship was detected between bcl-2 expression and local control or overall survival. The emergence of a recurrence and a younger age (<50 years) were significantly related to poor overall survival (P = 0.000 and P = 0.021, respectively). Patients with hemoglobin levels in the middle of radiotherapy and at the end of radiotherapy higher than 13 g/dl had improved overall survival in multivariate analyses (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively). Regarding local control, the following were poor prognostic factors: smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day (P = 0.001) and being younger than 50 years of age (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS No correlation was observed between bcl-2 expression and local control or overall survival. Whereas hemoglobin level, age and existence of a recurrence had a prognostic impact on overall survival, patient age and smoking status influenced local control rates.

An unusual case of adult-onset multi-systemic Langerhans cell histiocytosis with perianal and incident thyroid involvement

Summary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare sporadic disease characterized by histiocytic neoplastic infiltration of various organ systems and a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from benign and self-limiting to lethal. Herein, we report a rare case of adult-onset multi-systemic LCH in a 36-year-old male patient with an initial perianal presentation and incidental finding of subsequent thyroid gland involvement in the follow-up period. The patient with a history of perianal LCH treated with surgical excision and local radiotherapy was referred to our Endocrinology Department upon detection of hypermetabolic nodular lesions in the left lateral lobe of thyroid gland on positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) scan in the nineth month of follow-up. Current evaluation revealed euthyroid status, a hypoechoic solid lesion of 13 × 9 mm in size with irregular borders in the left thyroid lobe on thyroid USG and cytologic assessment of thyroid nodule. The patient was diagnosed with suspected, oncocytic lesion, Hashimoto thyroiditis or LCH. The patient underwent total thyroidectomy and pathological assessment confirmed the diagnosis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Assessments in the sixth month of postoperative follow-up revealed euthyroid status with no thyroid tissue remnants or pathological lymph node on thyroid USG. In view of the multifocal lesions indicating multi-system disease, a systemic chemotherapy protocol with combination of prednisone (PRED) and vinblastine (VBL) has been planned by the hematology department. Learning points: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) shows a wide clinical spectrum and prognosis that ranges from benign and self-limiting single-system disease (with single or multifocal lesions) to a potentially lethal multi-system disease with severe organ dysfunction and death in some cases. It has been stated that the diagnosis is often delayed in perianal LCH unless LCH is specifically considered in the etiology, despite the fact that mucosal involvement may precede systemic involvement. Our findings support the statement that most of patients with LCH were PET positive at the time of initial diagnosis, while also emphasize the inclusion of this imaging modality as a part of the diagnostic workflow as well as in the setting of treatment response evaluation among adult LCH patients.

Evre I larinks kanseri tedavisinde 3 ve 5 Alan Yoğunluk Ayarlı Radyoterapi (3A-YART, 5A-YART) tekniklerinde karotis arterin dozimetrik olarak karşılaştırılması

Bu calismada, radyoterapi (RT) uygulanmis Evre I larinks kanserli 18 hastanin arsiv materyali tedavi planlama sisteminden retrospektif olarak temin edilmistir. Bu hastalara ait planlama amaciyla cekilmis bilgisayarli tomografi (BT) verileri kullanilarak MONACO 5.1 tedavi planlama sistemi ile hastalarin 3 Alan Yogunluk Ayarli Radyoterapi (3A-YART) ve 5 Alan Yogunluk Ayarli Radyoterapi (5A-YART) tekniklerinin sanal tedavi planlari olusturulmustur. Klinik Hedef Hacime (CTV) 63 Gy/fx toplam doz tanimlanmistir. Tum tedavi planlari CTV’ yi kapsayacak sekilde tanimlanan dozun %95’ine normalize edilmis ve inhomojenite duzeltmeleri yapilmistir. Sanal planlar, sag ve sol karotis arter icin doz degerleri doz volum histogramlari (DVH) kullanilarak karsilastirilmistir. Elde edilen veriler Sosyal Bilimler icin Istatistiksel Paket Programi (SPSS) kullanilarak analiz edilmistir.

Synchronous breast cancer in spouses.

Breast cancer in both spouses is extremely rare. There are 7 metachronous cases and 1 synchronous case in the English literature. No case has been reported in which 1 of the spouses had bilateral breast cancer. In this paper, we report a synchronous pair of cases where 1 of the spouses (wife) had bilateral breast cancer and the other (husband) had breast cancer.