Pathological macroscopic evaluation of breast density versus mammographic breast density in breast cancer conserving surgery.

Correlation between imaging and anatomopathological breast density has been superficially explored and is heterogeneous in current medical literature. It is possible that mammographic and pathological findings are divergent. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between breast density classified by mammography and breast density of pathological macroscopic examination in specimens of breast cancer conservative surgeries. Post-hoc, exploratory analysis of a prospective randomized clinical trial of patients with breast cancer candidates for breast conservative surgery. Breast mammographic density (MD) was analyzed according to ACR BI-RADS® criteria, and pathologic macroscopic evaluation of breast density (PMBD) was estimated by visually calculating the ratio between stromal and fatty tissue. From 412 patients, MD was A in 291 (70,6%), B in 80 (19,4%) B, C in 35 (8,5%), and D in 6 (1,5%). Ninety-nine percent (201/203) of patients classified as A+B in MD were correspondently classified in PMBD. Conversely, only 18.7% (39/209) of patients with MD C+D were classified correspondently in PMBD (p < 0.001). Binary logistic regression showed age (OR 1.06, 1.01-1.12 95% CI, p 0.013) and nulliparity (OR 0.39, 0.17-0.96 95% CI, p 0.039) as predictors of A+B PMBD. Conclusion: Mammographic and pathologic macroscopic breast density showed no association in our study for breast C or D in breast image. The fatty breast was associated with older patients and the nulliparity decreases the chance of fatty breasts nearby 60%.

Venous thromboembolism incidence in postoperative breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) is an important cause of morbidity in cancer patients. Breast cancer patients undergoing surgical treatment are at an increased risk of VTE. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of VTE in patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of breast cancer and to identify the related risk factors. METHODS: A historical cohort of patients at the São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP) underwent surgery for breast cancer. The inclusion criteria covered patients with invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ who had breast surgery anytime from January 2016 to December 2018. RESULTS: Of the 1672 patients included in the study, 15 had a confirmed diagnosis of VTE (0.9%), and 3 of these had deep vein thrombosis (0.2%), and 12, had pulmonary thromboembolism (0.7%). Clinical and tumoral characteristics did not differ between the groups. The incidence of VTE was higher in patients who had undergone skin-sparing mastectomy or nipple-sparing mastectomy (p = 0.032). Immediate reconstruction, particularly with abdominal-based flaps (4.7%), increased VTE events (p = 0.033). Median surgical time was higher in patients with VTE episodes (p = 0.027), and total hospital length of stay increased in days (6 days vs. 2 days, p = 0.001). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative prophylaxis with Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) were associated with lower VTE rates (0.2% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.048 and 0.7% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.039; respectively) in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of VTE events in breast cancer patients who underwent surgery was 0.9%. Immediate reconstruction (especially with abdominal-based flaps), skin-sparing/nipple-sparing mastectomies, and longer surgeries were associated with increased risk. The LMWH postoperative prophylaxis reduced this risk.

Effects of preoperative magnetic resonance image on survival rates and surgical planning in breast cancer conservative surgery: randomized controlled trial (BREAST-MRI trial).

BACKGROUND: Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has high sensitivity in detecting invasive neoplasms. Controversy remains about its impact on the preoperative staging of breast cancer surgery. This study evaluated survival and surgical outcomes of preoperative MRI in conservative breast cancer surgery. METHODS: A phase III, randomized, open-label, single-center trial including female breast cancer participants, stage 0-III disease, and eligible for breast-conserving surgery. We compared the role of including MRI in preoperative evaluation versus radiologic exam routine with mammography and ultrasound in breast cancer conservative candidates. The primary outcome was local relapse-free survival (LRFS), and secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS), mastectomy rate, and reoperation rate. RESULTS: 524 were randomized to preoperative MRI group (n = 257) or control group (n = 267). The survival analysis showed a 5.9-years LRFS of 99.2% in MRI group versus 98.9% in control group (HR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.12-4.28; p = 0.7) and an OS of 95.3% in the MRI group versus 96.3% in the control group (HR = 1.37 95% CI 0.59-3.19; p = 0.8). Surgical management changed in 21 ipsilateral breasts in the MRI group; 21 (8.3%) had mastectomies versus one in the control group. No difference was found in reoperation rates, 22 (8.7%) in the MRI group versus 23 (8.7%) in the control group (RR = 1.002; 95% CI 0.57-1.75; p = 0.85). CONCLUSION: Preoperative MRI increased the mastectomy rates by 8%. The use of preoperative MRI did not influence local relapse-free survival, overall survival, or reoperation rates.

Venous thromboembolism incidence in postoperative breast cancer patients

Abstract Background Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) is an important cause of morbidity in cancer patients. Breast cancer patients undergoing surgical treatment are at an increased risk of VTE. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of VTE in patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of breast cancer and to identify the related risk factors. Methods A historical cohort of patients at the São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP) underwent surgery for breast cancer. The inclusion criteria covered patients with invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ who had breast surgery anytime from January 2016 to December 2018. Results Of the 1672 patients included in the study, 15 had a confirmed diagnosis of VTE (0.9%), and 3 of these had deep vein thrombosis (0.2%), and 12, had pulmonary thromboembolism (0.7%). Clinical and tumoral characteristics did not differ between the groups. The incidence of VTE was higher in patients who had undergone skin-sparing mastectomy or nipple-sparing mastectomy (p = 0.032). Immediate reconstruction, particularly with abdominal-based flaps (4.7%), increased VTE events (p = 0.033). Median surgical time was higher in patients with VTE episodes (p = 0.027), and total hospital length of stay increased in days (6 days vs. 2 days, p = 0.001). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and postoperative prophylaxis with Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) were associated with lower VTE rates (0.2% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.048 and 0.7% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.039; respectively) in these patients. Conclusions The incidence of VTE events in breast cancer patients who underwent surgery was 0.9%. Immediate reconstruction (especially with abdominal-based flaps), skin-sparing/nipple-sparing mastectomies, and longer surgeries were associated with increased risk. The LMWH postoperative prophylaxis reduced this risk.

Core needle biopsy in fibroepithelial tumors: predicting factors for phyllodes tumors.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and imaging predictive factors for the diagnosis of phyllodes tumors in patients with inconclusive results from core needle biopsy (fibroepithelial lesions). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data of patients who underwent surgical excision of breast lesions previously diagnosed as fibroepithelial lesions. Numeric variables were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk and t-tests, and categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to calculate odds ratios and detect predictive factors for the diagnosis of PT. RESULTS: A total of 89 biopsy samples were obtained from 77 patients, of which 43 were confirmed as fibroadenomas, 43 as phyllodes tumors, and 3 as other benign, non-fibroepithelial breast lesions. The mean tumor size was 3.61 cm (range, 0.8-10 cm) for phyllodes tumors and 2.4 cm (range, 0.8-7.9 cm) for fibroadenomas. The predictive factor for phyllodes tumor diagnosis was lesion size >3 cm (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that fibroepithelial lesions of the breast larger than 3 cm are more likely to be phyllodes tumors.