Learning curve for breast mass excision using a vacuum-assisted biopsy system.

BACKGROUND: Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy system (VAB) is an alternative modality to core needle biopsy for the diagnosis of breast lesions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty-four patients who underwent ultrasound-guided VAB procedures were analyzed. Patients were categorized into two groups: The first 20 consecutive patients as group A and the next 34 consecutive patients as group B. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients underwent excision, and two underwent biopsy only. Moving average curves showed a plateau phase for performing VAB procedures after the 20(th) patient. Total operation times of group B were significantly shorter than those of group A (p < 0.001). Complication rates in group B tended to be lower, and VAB probe position of group B tended to be better than that of group A, but these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest the existence of a learning curve for ultrasound-guided VAB procedures. VAB procedures can be performed safely, even during the early learning period.

Circulating tumor cell microseparator based on lateral magnetophoresis and immunomagnetic nanobeads.

This paper presents a circulating tumor cell (CTC) microseparator for isolation of CTCs from human peripheral blood using immunomagnetic nanobeads with bound antiepithelial cell adhesive molecule (EpCAM) antibodies that specifically bind to epithelial cancer cells. The isolation is performed through lateral magnetophoresis, which is induced by high-gradient magnetic separation technology, involving a ferromagnetic wire array inlaid in the bottom substrate of a microchannel. Experimental results showed that the CTC microseparator isolates about 90% of spiked CTCs in human peripheral blood at a flow rate of up to 5 mL/h and purifies to approximately 97%. The overall isolation procedure was completed within 15 min for 200 µL of peripheral blood. CTCs from peripheral blood of patients with breast and lung cancers were isolated with the CTC microseparator, and the results were compared with those of healthy donors. Using a fluorescence-based viability assay, the viability of CTCs isolated from peripheral blood of patients with cancer was observed. In addition, the usefulness of the CTC microseparator for subsequent genetic assay was confirmed by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification of cancer-specific genes using CTCs isolated from patients with cancer.

Lack of either estrogen or progesterone receptor expression is associated with poor survival outcome among luminal A breast cancer subtype.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to evaluate the impact of lack of either estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) on characteristics and outcomes among luminal A breast cancer subtype treated with endocrine with or without chemotherapeutic agents. METHODS: The luminal A subtype was categorized into three subgroups: ER+/PR+, ER+/PR-, and ER-/PR+. All tumors were human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negative. Clinicopathological features and survival were analyzed using the Severance Hospital dataset (n = 1,180) and were validated by the nationwide Korean Breast Cancer Society (KBCS) registry (n = 9,916). RESULTS: Despite the different distribution of ER/PR status, tumor stage, grade, and local therapies between the two datasets, similarly ER+/PR+ showed smaller size and good differentiation, ER+/PR- patients had the oldest age at diagnosis, and ER-/PR+ was associated with the youngest age at onset and grade III tumor. Single hormone receptor-positive subgroups demonstrated worse disease-related outcomes than the ER+/PR+ subgroup. These associations were confirmed by the KBCS dataset. This trend was also demonstrated in the subpopulation of 1,944 patients with Ki-67 < 14 %. Inferior survival of single receptor-positive tumors was more definite among node-positive patients even when receiving both chemo-endocrine therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Current results suggest that the luminal A subtype is also heterogeneous and each subgroup has unique clinicopathologic characteristics. Lack of either ER or PR expression is associated with worse survival, especially among node-positive luminal A subtype.

Palbociclib with letrozole as second-line neo-systemic therapy after failure of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for luminal type breast cancer: A case report.

RATIONALE: Neo-adjuvant systemic therapy includes endocrine therapy and chemotherapy, which is widely used. Luminal breast cancer is resistant to chemotherapy and is more likely to not respond to chemotherapy before surgery. Palbociclib is a cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibitor. Palbociclib with letrozole combination therapy was an effective chemotherapy in metastatic luminal type breast cancer and had fewer side effects; however, the benefit of palbociclib in neoadjuvant systemic therapy is unclear. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 50-year-old female patient visited our hospital with palpable lump in the right breast. The lymph nodes fixed in the ipsilateral axilla. DIAGNOSIS: The patient was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the right breast; the nuclear grade was moderate. The ipsilateral fixed lymph node was diagnosed as metastasis. The breast cancer subtype was luminal A type and was positive for estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor, and negative for HER2/neu and Ki-67 marker index <10% on immunohistochemistry. INTERVENTIONS: Neo-systemic therapy was performed with 3 cycles of adriamycin with docetaxel. After follow-up study, the breast and axillary lesions progressed. Palbociclib with letrozole was administered as second neo-systemic therapy for 10 months. Subsequently, breast-conserving surgery with sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed. OUTCOMES: In the postoperative pathologic result, 4 mm invasive lesion remained, and the sentinel lymph node biopsy was negative. The results achieved a residual cancer burden classification class 1. CONCLUSION: Second-line neo-systemic therapy can further reduce the size of the tumor and increase the likelihood of avoiding the side effects of surgery. Palbociclib with letrozole may be a good treatment in the preoperative stage for luminal breast cancer that is resistant to chemotherapy.

Pathological complete response to neoadjuvant trastuzumab and pertuzumab therapy is related to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification level in HER2-amplified breast cancer.

The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is amplified in approximately 20% of breast cancers, and HER2 receptor targeting therapy is associated with a significant improvement in disease-free and overall survival. In several clinical trials, the pathologic complete response (pCR) rate was significantly increased with combined pertuzumab and trastuzumab treatment in HER2-amplified breast cancer. Although the efficacy and safety of anti-HER2 dual blockade therapy has been reported, the markers that predict the response are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the level of HER2 amplification and the pCR in trastuzumab and pertuzumab neoadjuvant therapy.Twenty-two HER2-amplified early breast cancer patients who had received neoadjuvant docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab (TCHP) therapy were included in this study. HER2/CEP17 ratio and average HER2 copy number were measured by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis. The relationship between level of HER2 amplification and tumor pCR status was investigated.The median age was 47.5 years (range, 36-62). 31.8% of the patients were hormone receptor (HR) positive and 68.2%% of the patients were HR negative. The pCR (ypN0/is ypN0) rate in the breast and axilla was 68.2%. The patients who experienced a pCR had a median HER2/CEP17 ratio of 7.08 (range, 3.16-10.40) and average HER2 copy number of 17.00 (range, 5.85-37.50). The patients who did not experience a pCR had a median ratio of 4.70 (range, 1.06-9.00) and median HER2 copy number of 12.00 (range, 5.85-20.95) (P = .030, P = .174), respectively.pCR was highly correlated with HER2/CEP17 ratio in neoadjuvant anti-HER2 dual blockade. This suggests that the HER2/CEP17 ratio can be used as a predictive marker for pCR in neoadjuvant trastuzumab and pertuzumab therapy.

Retrospective review of 108 breast reconstructions using the round block technique after breast-conserving surgery: Indications, complications, and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Several oncoplastic approaches have been implemented in recent years to enhance cosmetic results and to reduce complications. The round block technique is a volume displacement technique for breast reconstruction after breast-conserving surgery (BCS). However, its indications are currently limited according to tumor location, and its cosmetic results and complications have not been clearly established. We hypothesized that the round block technique could produce favorable cosmetic results without major complications regardless of tumor location or nipple-tumor distance, below a certain resected tumor volume and tumor-breast volume ratio. METHODS: All breast reconstructions using the round block technique after BCS were included in this analysis. Patients' data were reviewed retrospectively to investigate complications during follow-up, and clinical photos were used to evaluate cosmetic results. The relationships of tumor location, nipple-tumor distance, tumor volume, and the tumor-breast volume ratio with cosmetic results were investigated. RESULTS: In total, 108 breasts were reconstructed. The mean resected tumor volume was 30.2±15.0 mL. The cosmetic score was 4.5±0.6 out of 5. Tumor location, nipple-tumor distance, tumor volume, tumor-breast volume ratio, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy had no significant effects on cosmetic results or complications. There were no major complications requiring reoperation. CONCLUSIONS: Breast reconstruction using the round block technique after BCS can lead to good cosmetic results without major complications regardless of the tumor location, nipple-tumor distance, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. Below the maximum tumor volume (79.2 mL) and the maximum tumor-breast volume ratio (14%), favorable results were consistently obtained.

A nationwide, multicenter retrospective study on the effectiveness and safety of eribulin in Korean breast cancer patients (REMARK).

PURPOSE: Approval of eribulin for metastatic breast cancer was based on data primarily from Western patients, and there is a paucity of data on the effectiveness and safety of eribulin for Asian patients. To determine the effectiveness and safety of eribulin in Korean women with breast cancer in a real-world setting, we conducted a nationwide, multicenter, retrospective study. METHODS: Patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who were treated with eribulin in 14 centers throughout Korea were included in this study. Eribulin was generally administered at a dose of 1.23 mg/m2 (equivalent to 1.4 mg/m2 eribulin mesylate) by intravenous infusion for 2-5 min, or as a diluted solution, on Days 1 and 8 of every 21-day cycle. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 6 months. Secondary endpoints included median PFS, overall survival (OS), time-to-treatment failure (TTF), tumor response rate, and incidence of hematologic treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). RESULTS: The safety and full analysis populations included 398 and 360 (38 had no efficacy data) patients, respectively. The PFS rate at 6 months was 37.8%. Median PFS, OS, and TTF were 134, 631, and 120 days, respectively. Objective response rate, clinical benefit rate, and disease control rate were 18.1%, 50.6%, and 49.4%, respectively. Hematologic TEAEs were reported in 65.1% of patients; neutropenia (56.8%) and anemia (11.3%) were most common. CONCLUSION: Real-world effectiveness and safety of eribulin in Korean breast cancer patients were consistent with previous reports; no new safety concerns were identified.

A disposable microfluidic device with a reusable magnetophoretic functional substrate for isolation of circulating tumor cells.

We describe an assembly-disposable microfluidic device based on a silicone-coated release polymer thin film. It consists of a disposable polymeric superstrate and a reusable functional substrate and they are assembled simply using vacuum pressure. The disposable polymeric superstrate is manufactured by bonding a silicone-coated release polymer thin film and a microstructured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) replica, containing only a simple structured microchannel. The reusable functional substrate generates an intricate energy field that can penetrate the micrometer-thick polymer film into the microchannel and control microfluids. This is the first report to introduce a silicone-coated release polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thin film as a bonding layer on a microstructured PDMS replica. The bonding strength was ∼600 kPa, which is the strongest among bonding methods of PDMS and PET polymer. Additionally, accelerated tests for bond stability and leakage demonstrated that the silicone-coated release PET film can form a very robust bond with PDMS. To demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed assembly-disposable microfluidic device, a lateral magnetophoretic microseparator was developed in an assembly-disposable microfluidic device format and was evaluated for isolating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from patients with breast cancer.