The effectiveness of mammography surveillance after treatment of primary breast cancer: A single centre retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: There is a little evidence that routine follow-up of patients treated for early breast cancer (BC) to detect ibsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR), or contralateral breast cancer (CBC), is either effective or offers any mortality benefits. We report our experience of following patients with early BC for recurrences and new primaries in order to determine the role of mammogram surveillance. METHODS: Single centre, retrospective primary observational study was designed. Patients who had BC during year 2001-2006 were included and followed for a minimum of ten years. Patients were divided based on the modalities of detecting BC in to screen detected group and clinically detected one i.e. symptomatic BC. These two groups were compared. RESULTS: Total number of patients considered for analysis was 2530 (screen detected BC - 703 patients and symptomatic BC - 1827 patients). The rate of recurrence including regional and distant metastasis in screen detected BC group was 8% (57/703) and 2% (43/1827) in symptomatic one. However, the prevalence of IBTR/CBC in the whole cohort was 2% (62/2530). Mammography surveillance identified 60% (37/62) of patients who had IBTRs/CBCs.Mammography surveillance detected 85% (29/34) of all IBTRs/CBCs in the screen detected BC group. In contrast, it picked up only 29% (8/28) in the other group (Chi squared 20.5 p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Mammography surveillance is efficient for the screen detected BC group but not for the symptomatic one. Hence, it is worth suggesting different follow-up strategies for both groups. Further studies are therefore recommended.

Nipple Sparing Mastectomy as a Risk-Reducing Procedure for BRCA-Mutated Patients.

Growing numbers of asymptomatic women who become aware of carrying a breast cancer gene mutation (BRCA) mutation are choosing to undergo risk-reducing bilateral mastectomies with immediate breast reconstruction. We reviewed the literature with the aim of assessing the oncological safety of nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) as a risk-reduction procedure in BRCA-mutated patients. Nine studies reporting on the incidence of primary breast cancer post NSM in asymptomatic BRCA mutated patients undergoing risk-reducing bilateral procedures met the inclusion criteria. NSM appears to be a safe option for BRCA mutation carriers from an oncological point of view, with low reported rates of new breast cancers, low rates of postoperative complications, and high levels of satisfaction and postoperative quality of life. However, larger multi-institutional studies with longer follow-up are needed to establish this procedure as the best surgical option in this setting.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Surgical Management of Breast Cancer: Global Trends and Future Perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: The rapid spread of COVID-19 across the globe is forcing surgical oncologists to change their daily practice. We sought to evaluate how breast surgeons are adapting their surgical activity to limit viral spread and spare hospital resources. METHODS: A panel of 12 breast surgeons from the most affected regions of the world convened a virtual meeting on April 7, 2020, to discuss the changes in their local surgical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, a Web-based poll based was created to evaluate changes in surgical practice among breast surgeons from several countries. RESULTS: The virtual meeting showed that distinct countries and regions were experiencing different phases of the pandemic. Surgical priority was given to patients with aggressive disease not candidate for primary systemic therapy, those with progressive disease under neoadjuvant systemic therapy, and patients who have finished neoadjuvant therapy. One hundred breast surgeons filled out the poll. The trend showed reductions in operating room schedules, indications for surgery, and consultations, with an increasingly restrictive approach to elective surgery with worsening of the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 emergency should not compromise treatment of a potentially lethal disease such as breast cancer. Our results reveal that physicians are instinctively reluctant to abandon conventional standards of care when possible. However, as the situation deteriorates, alternative strategies of de-escalation are being adopted. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study aimed to characterize how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting breast cancer surgery and which strategies are being adopted to cope with the situation.

Breast Shape Analysis With Curvature Estimates and Principal Component Analysis for Cosmetic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery.

Background: Breast shape is defined utilizing mainly qualitative assessment (full, flat, ptotic) or estimates, such as volume or distances between reference points, that cannot describe it reliably. Objectives: The authors quantitatively described breast shape with two parameters derived from a statistical methodology denominated by principal component analysis (PCA). Methods: The authors created a heterogeneous dataset of breast shapes acquired with a commercial infrared 3-dimensional scanner on which PCA was performed. The authors plotted on a Cartesian plane the two highest values of PCA for each breast (principal components 1 and 2). Testing of the methodology on a preoperative and posttreatment surgical case and test-retest was performed by two operators. Results: The first two principal components derived from PCA characterize the shape of the breast included in the dataset. The test-retest demonstrated that different operators obtain very similar values of PCA. The system is also able to identify major changes in the preoperative and posttreatment stages of a two-stage reconstruction. Even minor changes were correctly detected by the system. Conclusions: This methodology can reliably describe the shape of a breast. An expert operator and a newly trained operator can reach similar results in a test/re-testing validation. Once developed and after further validation, this methodology could be employed as a good tool for outcome evaluation, auditing, and benchmarking.