Local treatment in patients with hereditary breast cancer: decision-making process in low-, moderate-, high-penetrance pathogenic germline mutation carriers.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We summarize recent evidence regarding commonly tested breast cancer susceptibility genes and review indications derived from recently published guidelines regarding management of carriers affected by early breast cancer (BC). RECENT FINDINGS: Management of affected women with a known genetic predisposition to BC was matter of debate at the most relevant international conferences, such as St. Gallen International Consensus Conference and San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium held both in 2021. At the same time, a joint Experts Panel from American Society of Clinical Oncology/American Society for Radiation Oncology/Society of Surgical Oncology (ASCO/ASTRO/SSO) convened to develop recommendations to support clinical decision-making in this specific setting and results about administration of new systemic therapies such as poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors became available. SUMMARY: Population of patients affected by BC and carriers of mutations in susceptibility genes is progressively increasing, but new mutations identified do not always have a clear clinical impact.To date, we have data to support consideration of different local management choices for affected patients carrying specific mutations, but some issues especially relating to breast-conserving surgery or administration of radiotherapy in these patients, still need to be better addressed. Opinions about the best way to treat these patients are still heterogeneous and information deriving from different sources seems to be conflicting at times. Our purpose is to offer a synopsis of the different evidence available that may be helpful in clinical decision making.

The First Use of Human-Derived ADM in Prepectoral Direct-to-Implant Breast Reconstruction after Skin-Reducing Mastectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Large and ptotic breasts always represented a great reconstructive challenge for plastic surgeons. In order to deal with these patients, we started performing Wise-pattern skin-reducing mastectomies (SRM) followed by direct-to-implant breast reconstructions (DTI-BR) in the prepectoral space where the implants were covered with the autologous adipo-dermal flap and a human acellular dermal matrix called MODA. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed all patients that underwent Wise-pattern SRM followed by MODA-assisted, prepectoral, DTI-BR between January 2017 and November 2019 at our Institution. Inclusion criteria were large ptotic breast and pinch test >2cm, while exclusion criteria were smoking >10 cigarettes/day, history of prior radiotherapy, patients supposedly requiring breast implants bigger than 550cc or post-mastectomy radiotherapy. Patients' data were collected through their electronic medical records. Both short- and long-term outcomes were reported. RESULTS: Seventeen patients underwent Wise-pattern SRM followed by MODA-assisted, prepectoral, DTI-BR for a total of twenty-one breast reconstruction and fourteen matching procedures. Mean follow-up was 13.4 months (SD= ±3.67). No major complication was reported. Three (14.3%) reconstructed breasts had minor complications: 2 (9.5%) minimal (<1cm2) wound dehiscence and 1 (4.8%) de-epithelization of the skin at the T junction that were treated conservatively. Drainages gave mean output of 410.59 ml (SD= ±214.83) and were kept in place on average for 8.59 days (SD= ±3.45). CONCLUSION: Few are the reports in the literature regarding DTI-BR following SRM and even fewer are those where BR was performed in the prepectoral space. Our work demonstrated the safety of prepectoral DTI-BR following SRM in selected patients in accordance with the "conservative reconstruction" principles. Furthermore, we confirmed the reliability of MODA in accordance with previously published works. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

"Bifidus pedicle", The Use of Bilobed Superomedial Pedicle for Breast Reshaping Following Upper Outer Quadrantectomy: A New Oncoplastic Breast Surgery Technique.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this work was to describe our technique, the "Bifidus pedicle", which is a modification of the superomedial pedicle, for managing large breast cancers (BCs) in the upper outer quadrant (UOQ) in patients with medium/large breasts and associated ptosis. Observed complications, cosmetic outcome and oncologic safety were also reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients underwent our modification of the superomedial pedicle combined with a Wise skin resection pattern for large BCs in the UOQ. All patients underwent contralateral Wise pattern breast reduction/mastopexy for symmetry. RESULTS: The average weight of the quadrantectomy specimen was 235 grams (range: 36-400 grams). Mean free tumour margin was 19.4 mm (range: 16-30). Mean operative time was 165 minutes (range: 150-220). Eight (13.2%) breasts had minor complications: two partial NAC necrosis, and six minimal wound dehiscences. Mean follow-up was 22 months (range: 12-30). Overall satisfaction rate was 91%; patients reported to be satisfied the most with the shape (92%) of the breasts, the achieved symmetry (94%), and the volume (85%), focusing on the fullness in the UOQ. CONCLUSIONS: Our Bifidus pedicle allowed to fill even wide defects in the UOQ, because we selectively employed it in patients with medium to large ptotic breasts where the lower pole had enough tissue to be displaced. Satisfactory cosmetic and oncologic outcomes were achieved with low complication rate. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

The NOTA Study (Non Operative Treatment for Acute Appendicitis): prospective study on the efficacy and safety of antibiotics (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid) for treating patients with right lower quadrant abdominal pain and long-term follow-up of conservatively treated suspected appendicitis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the safety and efficacy of antibiotics treatment for suspected acute uncomplicated appendicitis and to monitor the long term follow-up of non-operated patients. BACKGROUND: Right lower quadrant abdominal pain is a common cause of emergency department admission. The natural history of acute appendicitis nonoperatively treated with antibiotics remains unclear. METHODS: In 2010, a total of 159 patients [mean AIR (Appendicitis Inflammatory Response) score = 4.9 and mean Alvarado score = 5.2] with suspected appendicitis were enrolled and underwent nonoperative management (NOM) with amoxicillin/clavulanate. The follow-up period was 2 years. RESULTS: Short-term (7 days) NOM failure rate was 11.9%. All patients with initial failures were operated within 7 days. At 15 days, no recurrences were recorded. After 2 years, the overall recurrence rate was 13.8% (22/159); 14 of 22 patients were successfully treated with further cycle of amoxicillin/clavulanate. No major side effects occurred. Abdominal pain assessed by the Numeric Rating Scale and the visual analog scale; median Numeric Rating Scale score was 3 at 5 days and 2 after 7 days. Mean length of stay of nonoperatively managed patients was 0.4 days, and mean sick leave period was 5.8 days. Long-term efficacy of NOM treatment was 83% (118 patients recurrence free and 14 patients with recurrence nonoperatively managed). None of the single factors forming the Alvarado or AIR score were independent predictors of failure of NOM or long-term recurrence. Alvarado and AIR scores were the only independent predictive factors of NOM failure after multivariate analysis, but both did not correlate with recurrences. Overall costs of NOM and antibiotics were &OV0556;316.20 per patient. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics for suspected acute appendicitis are safe and effective and may avoid unnecessary appendectomy, reducing operation rate, surgical risks, and overall costs. After 2 years of follow-up, recurrences of nonoperatively treated right lower quadrant abdominal pain are less than 14% and may be safely and effectively treated with further antibiotics.

Invasive lobular breast cancer: Focus on prevention, genetics, diagnosis, and treatment.

Invasive lobular cancer (ILC) is the most common of the breast cancer special types, accounting for up to 15% of all breast malignancies. The distinctive biological features of ILC include the loss of the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin, which drives the tumor's peculiar discohesive growth pattern, with cells arranged in single file and dispersed throughout the stroma. Typically, such tumors originate in the lobules, are more commonly bilateral compared to invasive ductal cancer (IDC) and require a more accurate diagnostic examination through imaging. They are luminal in molecular subtype, and exhibit estrogen and progesterone receptor positivity and HER2 negativity, thus presenting a more unpredictable response to neoadjuvant therapies. There has been a significant increase in research focused on this distinctive breast cancer subtype, including studies on its pathology, its clinical and surgical management, and the high-resolution definition of its genomic profile, as well as the development of new therapeutic perspectives. This review will summarize the heterogeneous pattern of this unique disease, focusing on challenges in its comprehensive clinical management and on future insights and research objectives.

Metaplastic breast cancer: an all-round multidisciplinary consensus.

Metaplastic breast cancer (MpBC) is a rare and aggressive histologic subtype of breast cancer (BC) characterized by the presence of at least two cellular types, commonly epithelial and mesenchymal components. Despite growing evidence that MpBC is a unique entity, it has long been treated as a variant of nonspecial type (NST) BC. MpBC typically shows the phenotype of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), but compared to NST-TNBC, it is a relatively chemorefractory tumor associated with worse outcomes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop management guidelines specifically for MpBC to improve the prognosis of patients with early MpBC. This expert consensus aims to guide diagnosis and standardize clinical management of early MpBC among treating physicians. We provide guidance on the challenging radiological and pathological diagnosis of MpBC. Evidence on the involvement of genetic predisposition in the development of MpBC is also explored. We emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach for the treatment of patients with early MpBC. The optimal surgery and radiotherapy approach is presented, as well as the opportunity offered by novel therapeutic approaches to increase treatment response in this chemoresistant subtype. Appropriate management of patients with MpBC is critical to reduce the high risk of local and distant recurrence that characterizes this disease.

Successful retrieval of a needle point from the breast through a vacuum-assisted breast biopsy system.

Stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) system is generally used to perform breast biopsies after identifying suspicious lesions that are occult on ultrasound. In this case, we used an 8-Gauge VABB to retrieve a needle point retained in the outer-lower quadrant of the right breast of a patient previously treated with lumpectomy. The use of stereotactic VABB system in this specific clinical setting has been never described before and resulted minimally invasive and perfectly suitable for correct localisation and retrieval of the 3-mm needle point; moreover, it may be easily reproduced elsewhere.

A possible future for anaesthesia in breast surgery: thoracic paravertebral block and awake surgery. A prospective observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Quadrantectomy is a surgical procedure traditionally performed under general anaesthesia with intraoperative and postoperative opioid-based analgesia. The use of locoregional anaesthesia techniques in breast surgery has become widespread and allows excellent management of intraoperative and postoperative pain with reduced opioid consumption. We chose thoracic paravertebral block as regional anaesthesia technique in breast surgery to investigate the possibility of carrying out this surgery with the patient awake. METHODS: A prospective observational study on 50 patients was designed. The primary outcome for this study was the possibility to carry out the surgery with only the paravertebral block associated with mild sedation without general anaesthesia. Forty minutes before the start of the surgery, an ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block was performed at two thoracic levels, and for each level, 7 mL of ropivacaine 0.7% was injected. Sedation was obtained with target-controlled infusion of propofol. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients underwent the operation awake; in one case, we had to place an I-gel and perform general anaesthesia. No patient needed intraoperative or postoperative opioids. The numeric rating scale, recorded at 0, 2, 6, 12, 24, and 36 hours, was greater than 3 in only five patients. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that if in the future we try to make quadrantectomy an intervention in which the anaesthesia is exclusively regional, therefore with a patient awake and collaborating, it will not be possible to ignore the use of thoracic paravertebral block.

Single shot ultrasound-guided thoracic paravertebral block for opioid-free radical mastectomy: a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: General anesthesia (GA) is the most commonly used anesthesiological technique for radical mastectomy operations and can be associated with loco-regional anesthesia techniques. The aim of our study, carried out on 51 patients, was to assess the effectiveness of thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) associated with GA, or as a sole anesthesiological technique for postoperative pain control and for the reduction of intra and postoperative opioids consumption. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one patients with neoplastic breast disease and elected as candidates for radical mastectomy were included in the study. The primary outcomes for this study were intra and postoperative opioid consumption and postoperative pain intensity. In 37 patients, TPVB was associated with GA while in 14 patients it was used as the sole anesthesiological technique. Data are reported as mean with standard deviation median with interquartile range, number, and percentage, depending on the underlying distribution. RESULTS: We did not use intra or postoperative opioids for any patient and the Numeric Rate Scale, assessed at time 0, at the end of the surgery, and 2, 6, 12, and 24 hrs after surgery, was >3 in seven patients only. CONCLUSIONS: This study aims to show how TPVB can be used to carry out radical mastectomy procedures so that intra and postoperative opioids use can be avoided. In our study, TPVB was used in total mastectomy procedures in association with GA or as the sole anesthesiological technique, without the intra and postoperative use of opioids and with a significant reduction of local anesthetic dosages compared to those reported in the existing literature.