A nomogram to predict the pathological complete response in patients with breast cancer based on the TILs-US score.

BACKGROUND: The tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography score is a calculation system for predicting lymphocyte-predominant breast cancers in surgical specimens. A nomogram based on the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography score was developed to predict the pathological complete response in breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation was conducted on 118 patients with breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Hiroshima University Hospital. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography scores ≥4 were classified as high. A nomogram was developed using a stepwise logistic regression model for pathological complete response (ypT0 ypN0), based on the smallest Akaike information criterion. The predictive ability and clinical usefulness of the nomogram were also evaluated. RESULTS: Among 118 patients, 34 (28.8%) achieved a pathological complete response, and 52 (44.1%) exhibited high tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, high tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography (odds ratio, 6.01; P < 0.001), clinical complete response (odds ratio, 4.83; P = 0.004) and hormone receptor (odds ratio, 3.48; P = 0.038) were independent predictors of pathological complete response. A nomogram based on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography score, clinical complete response, hormone receptor and clinical N status was developed. The nomogram showed an area under the curve of 0.831 and a bias-corrected area under the curve of 0.809. The calibration plot showed a good fit between the expected and actual pathological complete response values. Decision curve analysis also showed the clinical utility of the nomogram for predicting pathological complete responses. CONCLUSIONS: A nomogram based on the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes-ultrasonography score exhibited a favorable predictive ability for pathological complete response in patients with breast cancer, which can be useful in predicting the residual disease status after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Prognostic impact of adjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor-positive and HER2-negative T1a/bN0M0 breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Mammography screening has increased the detection of subcentimeter breast cancers. The prognosis for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative T1a/bN0M0 breast cancers is excellent; however, the necessity of adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) is uncertain. METHODS: We evaluated the effectiveness of adjuvant ET in patients with ER-positive and HER2-negative T1a/bN0M0 breast cancer who underwent surgery from 2008 to 2012. Standard ET was administrated after surgery. The primary endpoint was the cumulative incidence of distant metastasis. All statistical tests were 2-sided. RESULTS: Adjuvant ET was administered to 3991 (83%) of the 4758 eligible patients (1202 T1a [25.3%] and 3556 T1b [74.7%], diseases). The median follow-up period was 9.2 years. The 9-year cumulative incidence of distant metastasis was 1.5% with ET and 2.6% without ET (adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR], 0.54; 95% CI, 0.32-0.93). In multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for distant metastasis were no history of ET, mastectomy, high-grade, and lymphatic invasion. The 9-year overall survival was 97.0% and 94.4% with and without ET, respectively (adjusted HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.39-0.83). In addition, adjuvant ET reduced the incidence of ipsilateral and contralateral breast cancer (9-year rates; 1.1% vs. 6.9%; sHR, 0.17, and 1.9% vs. 5.2%; sHR, 0.33). CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis was favorable in patients with ER-positive and HER2-negative T1a/bN0M0 breast cancer. Furthermore, adjuvant ET reduced the incidence of distant metastasis with minimal absolute risk difference. These findings support considering the omission of adjuvant ET, especially for patients with low-grade and no lymphatic invasion disease.

Long-Term Outcomes of Breast Cancer Patients with Local Recurrence After Mastectomy Undergoing Immediate Breast Reconstruction: A Retrospective Multi-institutional Study of 4153 Cases.

BACKGROUND: The number of breast cancer patients in Japan undergoing immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) has increased and the postoperative follow-up period has been extended. This study was conducted to clarify the clinical aspects of, and factors associated with, local recurrence (LR) after IBR. METHODS: This was a multicenter study which included 4153 early breast cancer patients who underwent IBR. Clinicopathological characteristics were examined and factors potentially contributing to LR were analyzed. Risk factors for LR were examined separately for non-invasive and invasive breast cancers. RESULTS: The median follow-up period was 75 months. The 7-year LR rates were 2.1% and 4.3% for non-invasive and invasive cancers, respectively (p < 0.001). The proportions of LR detected by palpation, subjective symptoms, and ultrasonography were 40.0%, 27.3%, and 25.9%, respectively. Overall, 75.7% of LR were solitary, and 92.7% of these cases had no further recurrences during the observational period. Multivariate analysis of LR for invasive cancer showed that skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) or nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM), the presence of lymphovascular invasion, cancer at the surgical margin, and not receiving radiation therapy were factors related to LR. The 7-year overall survival rates of the patients with LR and non-LR of invasive cancers were 92.5% and 97.3%, respectively, (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of LR after IBR was acceptably low and IBR can thus be performed safely for early breast cancer patients. Invasive cancer, SSM/NSM, lymphovascular invasion, and/or cancer at the surgical margin should prompt awareness of the possibility of LR.

Classification of Local Recurrence After Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Based on Location: The Features of Nipple-Areolar Recurrence Differ from Those of Other Local Recurrences.

BACKGROUND: Little information is available about the clinical and pathologic characteristics of local recurrence (LR) after nipple-sparing mastectomy according to the locations of LR. METHODS: This study classified 99 patients into the following two groups according to the location of LR after nipple-sparing mastectomy: nipple-areolar recurrence (NAR) group and other locations of LR (oLR) group. The study evaluated whether the location of LR was associated with disease-free survival (DFS) after LR resection. RESULTS: For about half of the patients (44.4 %) with NAR, the primary cancer was estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive. Conversely, in most of the patients with oLR (79.2 %), the primary cancer was ER-positive and HER2-negative. Among the LR tumors, the frequency of noninvasive carcinoma in the NAR tumors was significantly higher than in the oLR tumors (51.9 % vs 4.2 %, respectively). During a median follow-up period of 46 months, the location of LR was not associated with DFS after LR. In the NAR group, the presence or absence of LR tumor invasiveness was the only factor associated with DFS. In the oLR group, age at primary surgery was the only factor associated with DFS. CONCLUSION: This multi-institutional retrospective study demonstrated that the features of NAR, such as the characteristics of the primary and recurrent tumors and the prognostic factors after LR resection, were quite different from those of oLR.

[A Case of Breast Metastasis from Renal Cell Carcinoma].

The patient was a woman in her 90s. Right radical nephrectomy for right renal cell carcinoma had been performed 2 years and 6 months ago. Since then, there had been no recurrence. However, computed tomography during postoperative follow- up period showed a 3 cm mass in the right breast, and the patient was referred to our department. Breast ultrasonography indicated a well-circumscribed, oval, and almost smooth-surfaced tumor, 27 mm in size, located in the D region of the right breast. Results of a core needle biopsy showed metastatic renal cell carcinoma and clear cell carcinoma. Preoperative examination confirmed intramammary metastases of renal cell carcinoma. Given that the patient did not experience systemic metastases, partial mastectomy of the right breast was performed. Metastatic renal cell carcinoma is associated with poor prognosis. Generally, standard treatment in this disease is chemotherapy. However, surgical resection is selected with the aim of improving the prognosis and achieving radical cure of patients with this complication if these patients are in an oligometastatic state and complete resection of metastatic lesions is feasible, as in the present case. To achieve radical cure, the patient underwent partial mastectomy under local anesthesia, which is a relatively minimally invasive surgery.

Performance of dedicated breast positron emission tomography in the detection of small and low-grade breast cancer.

PURPOSE: This study compares the sensitivity of dedicated breast positron emission tomography (DbPET) and whole body positron emission tomography (WBPET) in detecting invasive breast cancer based on tumor size and biology. Further, we explored the relationship between maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of DbPET and biological features of the tumor. METHODS: A total of 639 invasive breast cancer lesions subjected to both DbPET and WBPET before surgery, between January 2016 and May 2019, were included in the study. The sensitivity of DbPET and WBPET in detection and the biology of the tumor according to the clinicopathological features were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: The overall sensitivity of DbPET was higher than that of WBPET (91.4% vs. 80.3%, p < 0.001). Subcentimetric tumors were significant (80.9% vs. 54.3%, p < 0.001). Regardless of the nuclear grade, DbPET could detect more lesions than WBPET. The SUVmax was positively correlated with tumor size (R = 0.395, p < 0.001) and the nuclear grade (p < 0.001). Luminal A-like breast cancer had significantly lower SUVmax values than the other subtypes (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: DbPET is superior to WBPET in the detection of subcentimetric, low-grade breast cancers. Further, by using SUVmax, DbPET can distinguish luminal A-like breast cancer from the other subtypes.

Febrile neutropenia and role of prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in docetaxel and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy for breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Febrile neutropenia (FN) incidence during docetaxel and cyclophosphamide (TC) chemotherapy, known as a high-risk regimen, differs among countries. The role of prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in FN is unclear. This study aimed to investigate FN frequency and relative dose intensity (RDI) of TC chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer and identify the correct population requiring prophylactic G-CSF. METHODS: In total, 205 patients with breast cancer were scheduled for TC chemotherapy (docetaxel/cyclophosphamide 75/600 mg/m2, every 3 weeks, 4 cycles) as adjuvant chemotherapy. Trastuzumab (8 mg/kg; continued with 6 mg/kg) was administrated intravenously for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive cancer. Fifty-five patients received primary prophylactic measures (G-CSF: 20 and antibiotics: 35). We investigated the frequency of FN and hospitalization, RDI, and the factors related to FN, adverse events, hospitalization, and RDI. RESULTS: FN occurred in 70 patients (35.7%). FN incidence was noted in 41.1% without any prophylactic measures and in 5.0% with prophylactic G-CSF. In multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors of FN were older age (≥ 60 years, P = 0.017) and without primary prophylactic G-CSF (P = 0.011). Eleven patients (5.6%) were hospitalized of which 8 (72.7%) were elderly. The median RDIs of docetaxel and cyclophosphamide were 96.7% and 99.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: FN frequency during TC chemotherapy was high, and primary prophylactic G-CSF reduced FN incidence. Primary prophylactic G-CSF is an effective therapy for preventing FN during TC chemotherapy. However, prophylactic G-CSF should be considered for elderly patients based on the low hospitalization rate and the high RDI.

Predicting the presence of breast cancer using circulating small RNAs, including those in the extracellular vesicles.

Emerging evidence indicates that small RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and their isoforms (isomiRs), and transfer RNA fragments (tRFs), are differently expressed in breast cancer (BC) and can be detected in blood circulation. Circulating small RNAs and small RNAs in extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as ideal markers in small RNA-based applications for cancer detection. In this study, we first undertook small RNA sequencing to assess the expression of circulating small RNAs in the serum of BC patients and cancer-free individuals (controls). Expression of 3 small RNAs, namely isomiR of miR-21-5p (3' addition C), miR-23a-3p and tRF-Lys (TTT), was significantly higher in BC samples and was validated by small RNA sequencing in an independent cohort. Our constructed model using 3 small RNAs showed high diagnostic accuracy with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.92 and discriminated early-stage BCs at stage 0 from control. To test the possibility that these small RNAs are released from cancer cells, we next examined EVs from the serum of BC patients and controls. Two of the 3 candidate small RNAs were identified, and shown to be abundant in EVs of BC patients. Interestingly, these 2 small RNAs are also more abundantly detected in culture media of breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). The same tendency in selective elevation seen in total serum, serum EV, and EV derived from cell culture media could indicate the efficiency of this model using total serum of patients. These findings indicate that small RNAs serve as significant biomarkers for BC detection.

Diagnostic performance of peripheral leukocyte telomere G-tail length for detecting breast cancer.

The telomere G-tail (G-tail) plays an essential role in maintaining chromosome stability. In this study, we assessed the leukocyte G-tail length of breast cancer (BC) patients and cancer-free individuals and evaluated the association between the G-tail length and the presence of BC. A significant shortening of the median G-tail length was observed in BC patients compared with cancer-free individuals and was found in the early phase of BC. Our study indicated that the leukocyte G-tail length might be a potential biomarker for BC detection.

Prospective, randomized, cross-over pilot study of the effects of Rikkunshito, a Japanese traditional herbal medicine, on anorexia and plasma-acylated ghrelin levels in lung cancer patients undergoing cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

Purpose Anorexia induced by cytotoxic chemotherapy on delayed phase is a highly frequent adverse event. We aimed to determine the effects of rikkunshito (RKT) on chemotherapy-induced anorexia (CIA) in patients with lung cancer. Methods This prospective, randomized, cross-over pilot trial included 40 lung cancer patients scheduled to undergo cisplatin-based chemotherapy and randomized to either a group given RKT 7.5 g/day for 14 days (Group A, N = 20) or not (Group B, N = 20), then the treatments were switched. All patients received dexamethasone, palonosetron hydrochloride and aprepitant regardless of group assignment. Rescue drugs were allowed as required. The primary and key secondary endpoints were changes in caloric intake and in plasma acylated ghrelin (AG) levels, respectively. Average daily caloric intake during days 3 to 5 was compared with that on day 1 of each course. Results The primary and key secondary endpoints were analyzed in 31 patients (per protocol population) completing the study. Reduction rate of caloric intake was lower in RKT, than in control courses (18% vs. 25%, P = 0.025). Plasma AG levels significantly declined between days 1 and 3 in RKT (12.3 vs. 7.5 fmol/mL, P < 0.001) and control (10.8 vs. 8.6 fmol/mL, P < 0.001) courses. However, those obviously increased to 8.5 fmol/mL (P = 0.025) by day 5 in RKT course but not in control course (7.7 fmol/mL, P = 0.28). Conclusions Rikkunshito could mitigate CIA and ameliorate plasma AG levels during the delayed phase of CDDP-based chemotherapy in lung cancer patients. Clinical trial registration numbers: UMIN000010748.

The relationship between ring-type dedicated breast PET and immune microenvironment in early breast cancer.

PURPOSE: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography (PET) is related to the biological parameters and prognosis of breast cancer. However, whether whole-body PET (WBPET) and dedicated breast PET (DbPET) can reflect the tumor microenvironment is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in WBPET and DbPET. METHODS: A total of 125 invasive breast cancers underwent WBPET and ring-type DbPET and resected specimens were pathologically assessed. The impact of SUVmax on the tumor biological parameters and TILs was retrospectively evaluated. SUVmax was classified as high and low relative to the median values (WBPET-SUVmax: 2.2 and DbPET-SUVmax: 6.0). RESULTS: SUVmax correlated with tumor size, nuclear grade, Ki-67 labeling index, and TILs in both WBPET and DbPET (all p < 0.001). In multiple linear regression analysis, tumor size, Ki-67 labeling index, and TILs predicted SUVmax in WBPET and DbPET. The cutoff values of tumor size, Ki-67 labeling index, and TILs predicting high SUVmax were 20 mm, 20%, and 20%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, the predictive factors for high SUVmax were tumor size and Ki-67 labeling index for WBPET and tumor size and TILs for DbPET. High SUVmax in DbPET was related to high numbers of TILs after propensity score matching analysis; however, WBPET was not (p = 0.007 and p = 0.624, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Both SUVmax values in WBPET and DbPET predicted TIL concentration of the primary breast cancer. In DbPET, SUVmax represented the immune microenvironment after adjusting for tumor biological factors.

Prediction of biological characteristics of breast cancer using dual-phase FDG PET/CT.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess whether the retention index (RI) determined using dual-phase 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) reflects the malignant features of breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 1,523 patients with breast cancer were retrospectively evaluated. PET/CT scans were performed at 1 h and 2 h after FDG administration before treatment. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) at both time points (SUVmax1 and SUVmax2) in the primary tumour and RI were calculated. Primary tumour tissues were evaluated in terms of biological features, such as histology, nuclear grade, lymphovascular invasion and molecular subtype. RESULTS: Of the 1,523 patients, 463 (30.4%) had luminal A-like, 661 (43.4%) had luminal B-like, 229 (15.0%) had human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2-positive), and 157 (10.3%) triple-negative breast cancer. The median SUVmax1, SUVmax2 and RI values were 2.2, 2.3 and 2.6%, respectively. These metabolic parameters were correlated with tumour size, nodal metastasis, histology, nuclear grade, lymphovascular invasion, and molecular subtype (all P < 0.001). The median RI values were 0% in luminal A-like, 5.3% in luminal B-like, 6.9% in HER2-positive, and 11.4% in triple-negative breast cancer. RI was associated with malignant features when the tumour accumulated a significant amount of FDG. In a subanalysis of patients with tumours of stages T2 to T4, RI was correlated with nodal metastasis, histology, nuclear grade, and molecular subtype (luminal A-like 4.8%, luminal B-like 12.3%, HER2-positive 15.8%, and triple-negative 16.3%). CONCLUSION: RI determined using delayed-phase FDG PET/CT is associated with malignant features in breast cancers with significant FDG uptake. Dual-phase imaging was helpful in distinguishing luminal A-like breast cancer from luminal B-like, HER2-positive, and triple-negative breast cancers.

Identification of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients With Breast Cancer Using Dual-Phase FDG PET/CT.

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of dual-phase 18F-FDG PET/CT in detecting axillary lymph node metastasis in patients with breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A total of 826 patients with breast cancer were retrospectively evaluated. PET/CT scans were performed 1 hour and 2 hours after FDG administration before treatment. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in the axillary lymph node at both time points (hereafter referred to as SUVmax1 and SUVmax2, respectively) and the retention index (RI) were calculated. RESULTS. Axillary lymph node metastasis was detected in 285 of 826 patients (34.5%). The median axillary SUVmax1, SUVmax2, and RI in patients with nodal metastasis were higher than those in patients without metastasis (1.5 vs 0.6, 1.6 vs 0.5, and 7.7 vs -3.7, respectively; all p < 0.001). The diagnostic accuracy of axillary SUVmax1 and SUVmax2 was equivalent, and the sensitivity and specificity of SUVmax1 were 74.7% and 83.4%, respectively. Although the performance of the axillary RI was inferior to that of SUVmax1 and SUVmax2, both the SUVmax and the RI were independent predictors of nodal metastasis, and a positive RI suggested axillary lymph node involvement when the SUVmax1 was significantly high. Of 533 patients with category T1-2 breast cancer without lymph node swelling, 101 (19.0%) had pathologic lymph node involvement; the negative predictive value of axillary SUVmax1 was 86.8%. CONCLUSION. Delayed phase imaging identified axillary lymph node metastasis as accurately as standard PET/CT. A high negative predictive value of PET/CT for the detection of nodal metastasis is helpful to avoid surgical axillary assessment in patients with category T1-2 breast cancer without lymph node swelling.

Intratumoral heterogeneity on dedicated breast positron emission tomography predicts malignancy grade of breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Dedicated breast positron emission tomography (DbPET) provides detailed high-resolution images and can detect intratumoral heterogeneity using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). We aimed to evaluate the correlation between FDG uptake on DbPET and the clinicopathological features of breast cancer, particularly those with an intratumoral heterogeneous distribution of FDG on DbPET. METHODS: We evaluated 195 consecutive patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent preoperative whole-body PET (WBPET) and DbPET concurrently between January 2016 and March 2017. The relationships between clinicopathological factors and the maximum standard uptake values (SUVmax) of DbPET and WBPET, including clinical stage, nuclear grade, Ki67 proliferation index, estrogen receptor (ER) and human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) statuses, and the intratumoral heterogeneous distribution of FDG on DbPET, were evaluated. RESULTS: The SUVmax of DbPET was significantly correlated with clinical T stage, N stage, nuclear grade, and Ki67 proliferation index (all p < 0.001) as well as the ER (p = 0.006) and HER2 (p = 0.040) statuses. Intratumoral heterogeneous distribution of FDG on DbPET was significantly related with high nuclear grade (p = 0.016) and high Ki67 proliferation index (p = 0.015) but not with clinical T stage, N stage, and ER and HER2 statuses. CONCLUSIONS: The SUVmax of DbPET correlates with clinicopathological factors and also WBPET does. In addition, intratumoral heterogeneity on DbPET provides predictive value for malignancy grade and could inform therapeutic decisions.

Surveillance of protocol deviations in Japanese oncology registration trials: a single institute experience.

Background The contents and requirements of study protocols vary depending upon each clinical registration trial. This study aims to describe details of protocol deviations in Japanese oncology registration trials. Methods We reviewed deviation reports that were discussed by the Institutional Review Board between 2010 and 2015. Results A total of 499 clinical trials were performed, from which 967 deviations were reported. In the initial 3 years, 445 deviations occurred in 535 ongoing trials, while 522 deviations occurred in 876 trials in the subsequent 3 years. The frequency of deviations related to visit, examination, treatment, and others was 189 (19.5%), 446 (46.1%), 275 (28.4%), and 57 (5.9%), respectively. Serious deviations were common at the time of registration of trials and during treatment. The deviations were attributable to the institution (n = 520), subject (n = 93), sponsor (n = 28), schedule management (n = 162), disease condition (n = 95), and others (n = 69). Conclusion This study showed the number and detail responsible factors of protocol deviations. Our findings support to distinguish between the measures to reduce the serious deviations and to reduce the overall number of deviations.

Prognostic significance of vascular invasion in intermediate-grade subtype of lung adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: Although the recent reclassification of histological subtypes of lung adenocarcinoma reflects disease prognosis better, the prognosis of papillary and acinar-predominant adenocarcinoma, which are highly prevalent, is heterogeneity. The present study aimed to identify the prognostic indicators for papillary and acinar-predominant adenocarcinoma. METHODS: This retrospective study included 315 consecutive patients with completely resected pathological N0 lung adenocarcinoma tumors ≤3 cm from two institutions. Tumors were classified according to histologically predominant subtypes as low-grade (adenocarcinoma in situ, minimally invasive adenocarcinoma or lepidic predominant), intermediate-grade (papillary or acinar predominant) or high-grade (solid or micropapillary predominant). Prognostic factors in intermediate-grade group were assessed among clinicopathological factors of age, gender, surgical procedure, tumor size, pleural, lymphatic and vascular invasion using Cox proportion hazards analyses. RESULTS: There were 174 patients in the low-grade group, 109 in the intermediate-grade group and 32 in the high-grade group. The 3-year recurrence-free survival rates were 98.1%, 86.3% and 74.8% for these groups, respectively (P < 0.001). In the intermediate-grade group, the presence of vascular invasion was an independent prognostic factor on multivariate Cox regression analysis of recurrence-free survival (hazard ratio, 3.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-9.57, P = 0.01). Classification of intermediate-grade group based on vascular invasion revealed a clear division into favorable and unfavorable prognostic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Consideration of the vascular invasion status in addition to the predominant subtype could provide a more accurate assessment of malignant aggressiveness and prognosis of patients with early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

Impact of immediate breast reconstruction on perioperative therapy: insights from a Japanese Nationwide Registry.

BACKGROUND: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is a common oncoplastic procedure used in breast cancer surgery. This study aims to investigate compliance with prosthetic breast reconstruction guidelines and its impact on perioperative treatment. METHODS: We reviewed data from the National Clinical Database-Breast Cancer Registry between January 2019 and December 2020. We compared perioperative treatment implementation between the IBR and non-IBR groups by subtype matching for age, menopausal status, T stage, N stage, and histology. RESULTS: A total of 8,860 patients with breast cancer who underwent IBR (6,075 breast prostheses, 2,492 autologous tissues, and 293 others) were identified. The compliance rate with the guidelines for prosthetic breast reconstruction was 97.7%. After matching, chemotherapy for luminal A-like diseases was significantly less frequent in the IBR group than in the non-IBR group (16.3% vs 20.5%, p < 0.001), and radiotherapy was less frequent in luminal A-like and HER2-positive patients (7.2% vs 9.0%, p = 0.010 and 7.1% vs 11.4%, p = 0.005, respectively). Among the 1-3 node-positive cases, fewer patients with prosthetic IBR received radiotherapy than those without IBR (15.7% vs 26.4%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Prosthetic breast reconstruction was performed with strict adherence to the Japanese guidelines. The implementation rates of chemotherapy and radiotherapy were lower in the specific IBR group than those in the non-IBR group. Therefore, large-scale, long-term follow-up data are required.

Cross-Correlation of Confocal Images for Excised Breast Tissues of Total Mastectomy.

OBJECT: The purpose of this study is to develop an image artifact removal method for radar-based microwave breast imaging and demonstrates the detectability on excised breast tissues of total mastectomy. METHODS: A cross-correlation method was proposed and measurements were conducted. A hand-held radar-based breast cancer detector was utilized to measure a breast at different orientations. Images were generated by multiplying the confocal image data from two scans after cross-correlation. The optimum reconstruction permittivity values were extracted by the local maxima of the confocal image intensity as a function of reconstruction permittivity. RESULTS: With the proposed cross-correlation method, the contrast of the imaging result was enhanced and the clutters were removed. The proposed method was applied to 50 cases of excised breast tissues and the detection sensitivity of 72% was achieved. With the limited number of samples, the dependency of detection sensitivity on the breast size, breast density, and tumor size were examined. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: The detection sensitivity was strongly influenced by the breast density. The sensitivity was high for fatty breasts, whereas the sensitivity was low for heterogeneously dense breasts. In addition, it was observed that the sensitivity was high for extremely dense breast. This is the first detailed report on the excised breast tissues.