Rong Gang Lang

Breast carcinoma with micropapillary features: clinicopathologic study and long-term follow-up of 100 cases.

To study the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of breast (IMPC), 100 cases of invasive breast carcinoma with an IMPC component were reviewed. Compared with invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified, with similar histologic grades, carcinomas with IMPC were larger sized, had a higher lymph node metastasis rate with more nodes involved per case, and exhibited increased lymphovascular invasion. The presence of IMPC strongly correlated with the more aggressive behavior. No significant association was established between the proportion of the IMPC component and overall tumor size, histologic grade, lymph node metastasis rate, and distant metastasis, but a trend was noted. Long-term follow-up demonstrated a poorer 5-year and 10-year survival rate for patients with breast carcinoma containing an IMPC component. Breast carcinomas with micropapillary features are more aggressive tumors with a poorer prognosis. This specific structure should be carefully evaluated in the surgical pathology examination of breast carcinoma specimens.

Accessory Breast Cancer Occurring Concurrently with Bilateral Primary Invasive Breast Carcinomas: A Report of Two Cases and Literature Review

The development of accessory breast tissue, which is found anywhere along the milk line, is attributed to the failure of milk line remnants to regress during embryogenesis. Primary tumors may arise from any ectopic breast tissue. Accessory breast cancer occurring concurrently with primary invasive breast cancer is extremely rare. Two such cases were reported in this article. One was a 43-year-old Chinese female who exhibited bilateral breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified, IDC-NOS) and an accessory breast carcinoma (IDC-NOS) incidentally identified in her left axilla. The ectopic breast tissue in her right axilla presented with adenosis. The patient was surgically treated, followed by postoperative docetaxel epirubicin (TE) chemotherapy. The second case was a 53-year-old Chinese female with bilateral breast cancer (apocrine carcinoma) accompanied by an accessory breast carcinoma (IDC-NOS) in her right axilla that was also incidentally identified. The patient was surgically treated after three doses of cyclophosphamide epirubicin docetaxel (CET) neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy of the same regimen.

Dasatinib inhibits c-src phosphorylation and prevents the proliferation of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) cells which overexpress Syndecan-Binding Protein (SDCBP).

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) progresses rapidly but lacks effective targeted therapies. Our previous study showed that downregulating syndecan-binding protein (SDCBP) in TNBC inhibits the proliferation of TNBC cells. Dasatinib is a new small-molecule inhibitor of c-src phosphorylation. The aim of this study was to investigate if SDCBP is a potential marker to indicate whether a TNBC is suitable for dasatinib therapy. This study applied co-immunoprecipitation to identify the interaction between SDCBP and c-src in TNBC cell lines. In addition, immunohistochemistry was used to investigate SDCBP and tyrosine-419 phosphorylated c-src (p-c-src-Y419) expression in TNBC tissues. SDCBP-overexpressing MDA-MB-231 cells were then constructed to evaluate the effects of dasatinib on SDCBP-induced TNBC progression in vitro and tumor formation in nude mice. We found wild-type SDCBP interacted with c-src and promoted the phosphorylation of c-src; this phosphorylation was completely blocked by dasatinib. SDCBP lacking the PDZ domain had no such effect. Among the 52 consecutive random TNBC cases examined, the expression of SDCBP was consistent with that of p-c-src-Y419, and positively correlated with histological grading or Ki-67 levels. SDCBP overexpression significantly accelerated the proliferation and cell cycle progression of the TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231; these effects were prevented by dasatinib treatment. However, the subsequent inhibition of p27 expression partially restored the proliferation and viability of the TNBC cells. The results of this study suggest that SDCBP interacts with c-src, regulates G1/S in TNBC cells, and enhances tumor cell proliferation by promoting the tyrosine phosphorylation of c-src at residue 419. Dasatinib inhibits such phosphorylation and blocks SDCBP-induced cell cycle progression. Therefore, SDCBP might be an important marker for identifying TNBC cases that are suitable for dasatinib therapy.

Invasive ductal carcinoma with osteoclastic giant cells of breast: clinicopathologic characteristics.

A 47-year-old woman presented to the physician with an enlarging right breast mass. The patient reported no family or personal history of breast cancer. The woman underwent a radiological examination including breast mammography and ultrasound. Ultrasound showed hypoechoic solid mass in the right upper-outer at 10 o’clock, regular margins with internal echoes of low intensity and slightly heterogeneous. Findings of ultrasound suggested malignant lesion. The patient underwent surgical excision of the lesion and the diagnosis of malignancy was confirmed.

Association of HER2 genetic heterogeneity with clinicopathological characteristics in breast cancer

OBJECTIVEnTo introduce the College of American Pathologists/American College of Medical Genetics Cytogenetics Resource Committee criteria for genetic heterogeneity (GH) in HER2 testing, and investigate the clinicopathological significance of HER2 genetic heterogeneity in invasive breast cancer.nnnMETHODSnThe clinical parameters of 100 cases of invasive breast carcinomas were collected. HER2 expression level and HER2 gene copy number in formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded tumor samples were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and the relationship between HER2 gene GH and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed.nnnRESULTSnAmong the 100 patients, HER2 gene GH was observed in 20 (20%) cases. When the number of HER2 amplified cells was more than 25%, the frequencies of FISH positive were higher than those cases with less than 25% HER2 amplified cells. The results showed that HER2 gene GH was associated with the degree of HER2 protein expression (P=0.004), and ER expression (P=0.002).nnnCONCLUSIONnHER2 gene GH may be correlated with the HER2 protein IHC 1+/2+, and ER expression in breast carcinoma. It is important for doctors to avoid ignoring or only counting FISH positive cells leading to incorrect diagnosis for these patients.