Does the false-negative rate for 1 or 2 negative sentinel nodes after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy translate into a high local recurrence rate?

Prospective trials demonstrate that sentinel node (SN) biopsy after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has a significant false-negative rate (FNR) when only 1 or 2 SNs are removed. It is unknown whether this increased FNR correlates with an elevated risk of recurrence. Tumor Registry data at an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center were reviewed from 2004 to 2018 for patients having a negative SN biopsy after NACT. Among 190 patients with histologically negative nodes after NACT having 1 (n = 42), 2 (n = 46), and ≥3 (n = 102) SNs, axillary recurrences occurred in 7.14%, 0%, and 1.96% (p = 0.09), breast recurrences occurred in 2.38%, 6.52%, and 0.98% (p = 0.12), and distance recurrences occurred in 16.67%, 8.70%, and 7.84% (p = 0.27), respectively. Time to first recurrence did not differ by SN count (p = 0.41). After adjustment for age, race, clinical stage, and receptor status, there were no differences in the rates of axillary (p = 0.26), breast (p = 0.44), or distance recurrence (p = 0.24) by numbers of SNs harvested. Median follow-up was 46.8 months. Despite higher post-NACT FNRs reported in randomized trials for patients having <3 sentinel nodes, recurrence rates were not significantly different for 1 versus 2 versus ≥3 SNs. This suggests that patients having 1 or 2 post-NACT SNs identified may not necessitate axillary dissection.

Treatment times in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant vs adjuvant chemotherapy: Is efficiency a benefit of preoperative chemotherapy?

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Delays in times to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy impair survival in breast cancer patients. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) confers equivalent survival to adjuvant chemotherapy (AC), but it remains unknown which approach facilitates faster initiation and completion of treatment. METHODS: Women ≥18 years old with nonrecurrent, noninflammatory, clinical stage I-III breast cancer diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 who underwent both surgery and chemotherapy were reviewed from the National Cancer Database. RESULTS: Among 155 606 women overall, 28 241 patients received NAC and 127 365 patients received AC. NAC patients had higher clinical T and N stages (35.8% T3/4 vs 4.9% T3/4; 14.4% N2/3 vs 3.7% N2/3). After adjusting for stage and other factors, NAC patients had longer times to begin treatment (36.1 vs 35.4 days adjusted, P = .15), and took significantly longer to start radiotherapy (240.8 vs 218.2 days adjusted, P < .0001), and endocrine therapy (301.6 vs 275.7 days adjusted, P < .0001). Unplanned readmissions (1.2% vs 1.7%), 30-day mortality (0.04% vs 0.01%), and 90-day mortality (0.30% vs 0.08%) were all low and clinically insignificant between NAC and AC. CONCLUSION: Compared to patients receiving AC, those receiving NAC do not start treatment sooner. In addition, patients receiving NAC do not complete treatment faster. Although there are clear indications for administering NAC vs AC, rapidity of treatment should not be considered a benefit of giving chemotherapy preoperatively.

Incidence of Sinusitis in Burn Victims and Association With Inhalational Injury.

The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence of sinusitis in mechanically ventilated burn victims and to examine if the presence of inhalational injury increases the likelihood of developing sinusitis. The authors hypothesize that the incidence of sinusitis will be increased in burn victims who have concomitant inhalational injury. A retrospective chart analysis was performed on all patients who were admitted to the Nathan Speare Regional Burn Treatment Center over a 24-month time frame. Patients who were mechanically ventilated for greater than 24 hours were then selected, resulting in a total of 137 patients for analysis. Multiple variables including number of days on mechanical ventilation, presence of confirmed inhalational injury by bronchoscopy, and method of diagnosis were examined. Of 137 patients, a diagnosis of sinusitis was made in 32 patients (23%). In patients with sinusitis, 87.5% had inhalational injury confirmed with bronchoscopy, compared with only 33.3% of patients without sinusitis (P < .01). Rates of nasotracheal/nasogastric intubation, nasoenteric feeding, and length of mechanical ventilation before sinusitis diagnosis were not significantly different. Patients with sinusitis were found to have suffered inhalational injury at a significantly higher rate than those who did not develop sinusitis. This suggests that inhalational injury is a significant risk factor for developing sinusitis.