Negative Survival Impact of Occult Lymph Node Involvement in Small HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer Treated by Up-Front Surgery.

(1) Background: The independent negative prognostic value of isolated tumor cells or micro-metastases in axillary lymph nodes has been established in triple-negative breast cancers (BC). However, the prognostic significance of pN0(i+) or pN1mi in HER2-positive BCs treated by primary surgery remains unexplored. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the impact of pN0(i+) or pN1mi in HER2-positive BC patients undergoing up-front surgery on their outcomes. (2) Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 23,650 patients treated in 13 French cancer centers from 1991 to 2013. pN status was categorized as pN0, pN0(i+), pN1mi, and pNmacro. The effect of pN0(i+) or pN1mi on outcomes was investigated both in the entire cohort of patients and in pT1a-b tumors. (3) Results: Of 1771 HER2-positive BC patients included, pN status distributed as follows: 1047 pN0 (59.1%), 60 pN0(i+) (3.4%), 118 pN1mi (6.7%), and 546 pN1 macro-metastases (30.8%). pN status was significantly associated with sentinel lymph node biopsy, axillary lymph node dissection, age, ER status, tumor grade, and size, lymphovascular invasion, adjuvant systemic therapy (ACt), and radiation therapy. With 61 months median follow-up (mean 63.2; CI 95% 61.5-64.9), only pN1 with macro-metastases was independently associated with a negative impact on overall, disease-free, recurrence-free, and metastasis-free survivals in multivariate analysis. In the pT1a-b subgroup including 474 patients, RFS was significantly decreased in multivariate analysis for pT1b BC without ACt (HR 2.365, 1.04-5.36, p = 0.039) and for pN0(i+)/pN1mi patients (HR 2.518, 1.03-6.14, p = 0.042). (4) Conclusions: Survival outcomes were not adversely affected by pN0(i+) and pN1mi in patients with HER2-positive BC. However, in the case of pT1a-b HER2-positive BC, a negative impact on RFS was observed specifically for patients with pN0(i+) and pN1mi diseases, particularly among those with pT1b tumors without ACt. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the pN0(i+) and pN1mi status in the decision-making process when discussing trastuzumab-based ACt for these patients.

Early breast cancer in women aged 35 years or younger: A large national multicenter French population-based case control-matched analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is a scarcity of data exploring early breast cancer (eBC) in very young patients. We assessed shared and intrinsic prognostic factors in a large cohort of patients aged ≤35, compared to a control group aged 36 to 50. METHODS: Patients ≤50 were retrospectively identified from a multicentric cohort of 23,134 eBC patients who underwent primary surgery between 1990 and 2014. Multivariate Cox analyses for DFS and OS were built. To assess the independent impact of age, 1 to 3 case-control analysis was performed by matching ≤35 and 36-50 years patients. RESULTS: Of 6481 patients, 556 were aged ≤35, and 5925 from 36 to 50. Age ≤35 was associated with larger tumors, higher grade, ER-negativity, macroscopic lymph node involvement (pN + macro), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), mastectomy, and chemotherapy (CT) use. In multivariate analysis, age ≤35 was associated with worse DFS [HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.32-1.84; p < 0.001], and OS [HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.03-1.60; p = 0.025], as were high grade, large tumor, LVI, pN + macro, ER-negativity, period of diagnostic, and absence of ET or CT (for DFS). Adverse prognostic impact of age ≤35 was maintained in the case control-matched analysis for DFS [HR 1.56, 95%CI 1.28-1.91, p < 0.001], and OS [HR 1.33, 95%CI 1.02-1.73, p = 0.032]. When only considering patients ≤35, ER, tumor size, nodal status, and LVI were independently associated with survival in this subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Age ≤35 is associated with less favorable presentation and more aggressive treatment strategies. Our results support the poor prognosis value of young age, which independently persisted when adjusting for other prognostic factors and treatments.

Palpable Nodules After Autologous Fat Grafting in Breast Cancer Patients: Incidence and Impact on Follow-up.

INTRODUCTION: Autologous fat grafting (AFG) is a promising breast reconstruction technique, following surgery. However, fat necrosis after AFG can cause palpable nodules, inducing anxiety and prompting additional investigations. We aimed to determine the occurrence rate and to identify the risk factors of palpable nodules in breast cancer patients prompting complementary explorations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the computerized files of consecutive breast cancer patients who underwent AFG after mastectomy or breast conservative treatment (BCT) at our center from January 2013 to December 2016. We collected data regarding palpable nodule incidences and suspicious breast imaging findings that led to additional explorations. RESULTS: Of the 252 patients reviewed, 222 (88%) underwent AFG for breast reconstruction, while 30 (12%) underwent AFG for correction of defects after BCT. The follow-up period ranged from 0 to 74 months (median: 27 months), and 201 patients had follow-ups beyond 1 year. Of the 252 patients, 66 (26.2%) underwent at least one control imaging and 24 (10%) underwent a biopsy, including 6 (2.4%) locoregional recurrence. Sixty patients (24%) were diagnosed with nodules during follow-ups. Among them, 52 (87%) patients had additional imaging, and 17 patients (28%) had a biopsy, including 82% benign histology. Patients with BCT had significantly more palpable nodules at 1 year than patients who underwent total mastectomy (odds ratio = 2.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.04. 6.03, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: This study underlines the importance of preoperative patient information. This intervention and its follow-up should be reserved for experienced teams to limit unnecessary additional explorations. 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 need to tailor the omission of axillary lymph node dissection to patients with good prognosis and sentinel node micro-metastases.

BACKGROUND: Results of IBCSG-23-01-trial which included breast cancer patients with involved sentinel nodes (SN) by isolated-tumor-cells or micro-metastases supported the non-inferiority of completion axillary-lymph-node-dissection (cALND) omission. However, current data are considered insufficient to avoid cALND for all patients with SN-micro-metastases. METHODS: To investigate the impact of cALND omission on disease-free-survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), we analyzed a cohort of 1421 patients <75 years old with SN-micro-metastases who underwent breast conservative surgery (BCS). We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to obtain adjusted Kaplan-Meier estimators representing the experience in the analysis cohort, based on whether all or none had been subject to cALND omission. RESULTS: Weighted log-rank tests comparing adjusted Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed significant differences in OS (p-value = 0.002) and borderline significant differences in DFS (p-value = 0.090) between cALND omission versus cALND. Cox's regression using stabilized IPTW evidenced an average increase in the risk of death associated with cALND omission (HR = 2.77, CI95% = 1.36-5.66). Subgroup analyses suggest that the rates of recurrence and death associated with cALND omission increase substantially after a large period of time in the half sample of women less likely to miss cALND. CONCLUSIONS: Using IPTW to estimate the causal treatment effect of cALND in a large retrospective cohort, we concluded cALND omission is associated with an increased risk of recurrence and death in women of <75 years old treated by BCS in the absence of a large consensus in favor of omitting cALND. These results are particularly contributive for patients treated by BCS where cALND omission rates increase over time.

Triple-negative and Her2-positive breast cancer in women aged 70 and over: prognostic impact of age according to treatment.

Background: Elderly breast cancer (BC) patients have been underrepresented in clinical trials whereas ~60% of deaths from BC occur in women aged 70 years and older. Only limited data are available on the prognostic impact of age according to treatment, especially in the triple-negative (TN) and Her2-positive because of the lower frequency of these subtypes in elderly patients. We report herein the results of a multicenter retrospective study analyzing the prognostic impact of age according to treatment delivered in TN and Her2-positive BC patients of 70 years or older, including comparison by age groups. Methods: The medical records of 31,473 patients treated from January 1991 to December 2018 were retrieved from 13 French cancer centers for retrospective analysis. Our study population included all ≥70 patients with TN or Her2-positive BC treated by upfront surgery. Three age categories were determined: 70-74, 75-80, and > 80 years. Results: Of 528 patients included, 243 patients were 70-74 years old (46%), 172 were 75-80 years (32.6%) and 113 were >80 years (21.4%). Half the population (51.9%, 274 patients) were TN, 30.1% (159) Her2-positive/hormone receptors (HR)-positive, and, 18% (95) Her2-positive/endocrine receptors (ER)-negative BC. Advanced tumor stage was associated with older age but no other prognostic factors (tumor subtype, tumor grade, LVI). Adjuvant chemotherapy delivery was inversely proportional to age. With 49 months median follow-up, all patient outcomes (overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS)) significantly decreased as age increased. In multivariate analysis, age >80, pT2-3 sizes, axillary macrometastases, lymphovascular involvement, and HR-negativity tumor negatively affected DFS and OS. Comparison between age >80 and <=80 years old showed worse RFS in patients aged > 80 (HR=1.771, p=0.031). Conclusion: TN and Her2-positive subtypes occur at similar frequency in elderly patients. Older age is associated with more advanced tumor stage presentation. Chemotherapy use decreases with older age without worse other pejorative prognostic factors. Age >80, but not ≤80, independently affected DFS and OS.

Contribution of endocrine therapy in oestrogen receptor-positive pT1a-b breast cancer: Results of a retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: Few data have been reported regarding endocrine therapy (ET) in patients with small pT1a-b ER-postive breast cancer (BC). Thus, we conducted a study to detect possible survival improvements due to ET in such patients. METHODS: Our retrospective observational study included 5545 patients with pT1a-b ER-positive BC treated in 15 French centres, excluding patients with HER2-positive status, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, ER-negative status, unknown pN status or in situ BC. We estimated disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) via univariate analysis and multivariate Cox regression. RESULTS: Most patients (80.3%: 4453) received ET and-when compared to those without ET-experienced increases of 2.5% and 3.3% in DFS and 1.9% and 4.3% in RFS after 5 and 7 years of follow-up, respectively, with little difference in OS. In Cox regression analysis, no ET was significantly associated with decreased DFS (hazard ratio, HR = 1.275, p = 0.047, 95% CI[1.003-1.620]) but not OS or RFS in all patients, while in 2363 patients with pT1a-b ER-positive grade 2-3 BC, no ET was significantly associated with decreased DFS (HR = 1.502, p = 0.049, 95% CI[1.001-2.252]), but not OS (HR = 1.361, p = 0.272). ET omission was not significantly associated with decreased survival in 3047 patients with pT1a-b ER-positive grade 1 BC. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that while ET provided a beneficial impact on survival to patients with pT1a-bN0 ER-positive BC-and especially in those with grade 2-3 tumours-no such impact was observed in grade 1 tumours. Consequently, ET should be discussed with these patients, particularly in those with pT1a grade 1 tumours.

Functional Cerebral MRI Evaluation of Integration of Breast Reconstruction into the Body Schema.

BACKGROUND: The objective of breast reconstruction (BR) is to erase the after-effects of total mastectomy by allowing patients to restore their breast shape. The aim of our study was to investigate the body map integration of different types of BR using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively enrolled all women undergoing BR for breast cancer to the Remasco study (NCT02553967). Participants were categorized into four groups according to the standard of care they required: immediate BR (IBR), delayed BR (DBR), flap (autologous), or implant BR. Each patient performed sensorimotor tasks during the fMRI acquisition. RESULTS: Data of 38 patients were analyzed. We identified the cingulate region as the area of interest in the brain. In the case of DBR, the brain area activated during palpation of the total mastectomy scar (before BR) was different from the brain area activated during palpation of the reconstructed breast (Brodmann areas 31 versus 32). Palpation of the native breast and reconstructed breast activated the same Brodmann area 32. Comparing the brain activation signal during palpation of the native breast and the reconstructed breast did not reveal any significant difference in the overall population (P = 0.41) or in the groups: autologous (P = 0.32), implant (P = 0.10), IBR (P = 0.72), or DBR (P = 0.10). CONCLUSIONS: This experimental study allowed us to describe and understand the brain plasticity processes that accompany BR. The results suggest that the reconstructed breast is integrated into the body schema, regardless of the type of BR or the timing.

Long-term outcomes in patients with PET-predicted poor-responsive HER2-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant bevacizumab added to trastuzumab and docetaxel: 5-year follow-up of the randomised Avataxher study.

BACKGROUND: The open-label, randomised Phase 2 AVATAXHER study (NCT01142778) demonstrated that early PET assessment identified HER2-positive breast cancer patients who responded poorly to neoadjuvant docetaxel plus trastuzumab. Adding neoadjuvant bevacizumab for PET-predicted poor-responders improved pathological complete response (pCR) rates (43.8% vs 24.0%). We investigated long-term study outcomes. METHODS: Patients were treated in three groups. All patients initially received two cycles of standard neoadjuvant therapy with [¹8F]-FDG PET conducted before each cycle. Those with ≥70% change in the maximum standardised uptake value (∆SUVmax) received four further cycles of standard neoadjuvant therapy (PET responders). PET-predicted poor-responders (∆SUVmax <70%) were randomised (2:1) to neoadjuvant therapy with (Group A) or without (Group B) bevacizumab for cycles 3-6. All patients received one further cycle of trastuzumab before surgery plus adjuvant trastuzumab (11 cycles). FINDINGS: 142 patients were randomized and treated (PET responders, n = 69; Group A, n = 48; Group B, n = 25). 5-year disease-free survival rates were 90.5% (95% CI: 80.0-95.6%) in PET responders, 90.2% (95% CI: 75.9-96.2%) in Group A, and 76.0% (95% CI: 54.2-88.4%) in Group B. However, no difference was observed between randomised arms in a sensitivity analysis. During adjuvant therapy, the incidence of Grade ≥3 (Group A: 25.6%; Group B 12.5%) and serious adverse events (Group A: 18.6%; Group B 12.5%) was higher in Group A vs Group B, but with no apparent effect on cardiac events. INTERPRETATION: In patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, an intervention based on early PET assessment and improvement of pCR does not modify disease-free survival. FUNDING: Roche France.

When to do surgical resection for atypical breast lesions: Results of a prospective cohort of 518 lesions.

AIM: There is no consensual indication for surgical resection after diagnosis on per-cutaneous biopsy of borderline breast lesions (B3). We evaluate under-evaluation rate of per-cutaneous biopsy and predictive factors of under-evaluation. We analyze accuracy of reported decision-making tools. METHODS: We conduct a prospective multicentric study including, atypic-ductal hyperplasia (ADH), atypic-lobular hyperplasia (ALH), atypic-cylindro-cubic metaplasia (FEA), papilloma, radial scars (RS) and phyllod tumors. When several B3 lesions were associated, the more severe lesion was used to classify the lesion. We determined breast cancers (BC) rate and histologic type. Among 478 patients, 518 B3 lesions were studied: 15.1% (78) FEA, 48.6% (252) ADH, 16.8% (n = 87) ALH, 5.4% (n = 28) RS, 12% (n = 62) papilloma, 0.8% (n = 4) phyllod tumors and 0,8% (n = 4) with a suspicious low grade DCIS. More than 1 lesion was identified in 31.9% (165) of cases. A surgical resection was performed for 86.3% (447/518) lesions. Significant factors of surgical resection were: residual micro-calcification after biopsy (OR: 2.7) and type of B3 lesion. RESULTS: Overall BC rate was 15.3% (68/445) with 79.4% (54) in-situ carcinomas. According to B3 lesions, BC rates were 12.9% for FEA, 20% for ADH, 11.6% for ALH, 3.7% for RS, 8.8% for papilloma and 25% for suspicious in-situ carcinoma. A score has been calculated and patients were distributed in 3 groups. Patient's rates without BC were respectively: 100%, 80.4% and 80.6% (p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, it could be suggested to avoided complementary surgical resection in case of good radio-pathologic concordance and low probability of BC.

A review of the international early recommendations for departments organization and cancer management priorities during the global COVID-19 pandemic: applicability in low- and middle-income countries.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus that has never been identified in humans before. COVID-19 caused at the time of writing of this article, 2.5 million cases of infections in 193 countries with 165,000 deaths, including two-third in Europe. In this context, Oncology Departments of the affected countries had to adapt quickly their health system care and establish new organizations and priorities. Thus, numerous recommendations and therapeutic options have been reported to optimize therapy delivery to patients with chronic disease and cancer. Obviously, while these cancer care recommendations are immediately applicable in Europe, they may not be applicable in certain emerging and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this review, we aimed to summarize these international guidelines in accordance with cancer types, making a synthesis for daily practice to protect patients, staff and tailor anti-cancer therapy delivery taking into account patients/tumour criteria and tools availability. Thus, we will discuss their applicability in the LMICs with different organizations, limited means and different constraints.

Ductal Carcinoma in Situ: A French National Survey. Analysis of 2125 Patients.

BACKGROUND: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) represents 15% of all breast cancers in France. The first national survey was conducted in 2003. The present multi-center real-life practice survey aimed at assessing possible changes in demographic, clinical, pathologic, and treatment features. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From March 2014 to September 2015, patients diagnosed with DCIS from 71 centers with complete information about age, diagnostic features, and treatment modalities were prospectively included. RESULTS: A total of 2125 patients with a median age of 58.6 years from 71 centers were studied. DCIS was diagnosed by mammography in 87.5% of cases. Preoperative biopsy was performed in 96% of cases. The median tumor size was 15 mm. Nuclear grade was low, intermediate, and high in 12%, 36%, and 47% of cases, respectively. Margins were considered to be negative in 83% of cases. Overall mastectomy and lumpectomy rates were 25% and 75%, respectively. The immediate breast reconstruction rate was 50%. Sentinel node biopsy and axillary dissection rates were 41% and 2.6%, respectively. After lumpectomy, 97% of patients underwent radiotherapy, and 32% received a boost dose. Only 1% of patients received endocrine therapy. Compared with our previous survey, the median tumor size remained the same, and the proportion of high-grade lesions increased by 9%. The mastectomy rate decreased by 4%. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical practice identified in this survey complies with French DCIS guidelines. About 10% of patients with low-grade DCIS may be eligible to participate in treatment de-escalation trials.

[New surgery]. / Nouvelle chirurgie du cancer du sein.

Surgery remains an essential step in the treatment of breast cancers, which are mostly diagnosed at early stages thanks to the screening. The evolution of breast cancer surgery is heading for a de-escalation in accordance with scientific data and patient expectations in terms of quality of life. At the mammary level, the evolution towards a conservative surgery is reinforced by complex surgical techniques (oncoplasty) and systemic neoadjuvant treatments. At the ganglionic level, sentinel lymph node dissection progressively replaces axillary dissection without loss of chance for the patients, making it possible to reduce the axillary morbidity. The place of breast reconstruction is growing although a majority of patients do not carry it out. Works need to be continued to understand this rate (less than 30% of patients). Failure of information? Fear of relapse? Medical misunderstanding?

Decision-making determinants for breast reconstruction in women over 65 years old.

Despite the positive effects that breast reconstruction (BR) has on quality of life, access to it remains limited for older women. The aim of this study was to identify decision-making determinants for BR in women over 65 years old, using a specifically designed questionnaire. We included in a case-control study 134 patients treated by mastectomy for breast cancer with or without BR in a cancer center performing BR. We showed higher motivation scores and quality of delivered information in the BR group. Surgeons are a key in convincing elderly patients that their age should no longer be an obstacle to BR.

Tubular and mucinous breast cancer: results of a cohort of 917 patients.

OBJECTIVES:: To analyze axillary lymph node involvement (ALNI) rate and survival for mucinous (MC) and tubular (TC) breast carcinomas considered being of very good prognosis and for which an axillary surgical exploration could be questioned. METHODS:: Our multicentric cohort consisted of 21,135 patients with clinically node-negative invasive breast cancer, without neoadjuvant therapy, between 1999 and 2013 in 10 French centers. ALNI rate and survival were analyzed according to patient and tumor characteristics. RESULTS:: Our cohort consisted of 672 TC and 245 MC. Patients were older and tumor size greater for MC and pathologic factors were more pejorative. The rate of mastectomies and adjuvant chemotherapy was higher in the MC group. Axillary lymph node status was determined by SLNB alone in 71.2% of patients. ALNI rates were 17.9% and 18% for TC and MC, respectively. ALNI rate was lesser for MC (OR 0.503, p = 0.024) and greater in case of lympho-vascular invasion (OR 5.0, p < 0.0001) and for tumors >10 mm (OR 2.17, p = 0.042). Median follow-up was 58 months. The 5- and 7-year overall survival rates were 97.1% and 95% for TC, respectively; 92.3% and 91.2% for MC ( p = 0.043); 5- and 7-year disease-free survival rates were 97.9% and 97.2% versus 95.2 and 93.6% ( p = 0.041). Lympho-vascular invasion was the only predictive factor for overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.70)' grade 2 (HR = 10) and HR-negative (HR = 4.9) were the two predictive factors for disease-free survival. CONCLUSION:: This study confirms the need for an axillary exploration for these tumors even for a tumor size <10 mm and a favorable prognosis.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy with simultaneous integrated boost for locally advanced breast cancer: a prospective study on toxicity and quality of life.

Radiotherapy after breast conserving surgery and mastectomy with node positive disease has been shown to reduce risk of recurrence and mortality in the treatment of breast cancer. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) after conservative surgery offers several advantages over conventional RT including improved acute and late toxicity and quality of life (QoL). We undertook this study to prospectively evaluate acute (≤90 days after last dose of radiotherapy) and long-term (>90 days) cutaneous, esophageal, and fibrosis toxicity and QoL in breast cancer patients treated by adjuvant IMRT after breast surgery. We included patients with complex volumes for which 3D RT does not allow a good coverage of target volumes and sparing organs at risk. We report here an interim analysis with a median follow-up of 13.1 months (range, 6.5-25.9 months). Most of the acute toxicity was cutaneous (95.9%) and oesophageal (59.6%), and mostly grade 1 and 2. Medium-term cutaneous toxicity rate was 25.6%, and mostly grade 1. Medium-term esophageal toxicity was rare (1.8%). In this series acute oesophageal toxicity was found to be associated with dosimetric factors. QoL was well preserved throughout the study, and aesthetic outcomes were good. Based on these data, tomotherapy may be a favorable alternative to other techniques in patients needing a complex irradiation of the breast and lymph node volumes.

Preoperative Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Women With Local Ductal Carcinoma in Situ to Optimize Surgical Outcomes: Results From the Randomized Phase III Trial IRCIS.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the addition of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to standard radiologic evaluation on the re-intervention rate in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) undergoing breast-conserving surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Women with biopsy-proven DCIS corresponding to a unifocal microcalcification cluster or a mass less than 30 mm were randomly assigned to undergo MRI or standard evaluation. The primary end point was the re-intervention rate for positive or close margins (< 2 mm) in the 6 months after randomization ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01112254). RESULTS: A total of 360 patients from 10 hospitals in France were included in the study. Of the 352 analyzable patients, 178 were randomly assigned to the MRI arm, and 174 were assigned to the control arm. In the intent-to-treat analysis, 82 of 345 patients with the assessable end point were reoperated for positive or close margins within 6 months, resulting in a re-intervention rate of 20% (35 of 173) in the MRI arm and 27% (47 of 172) in the control arm. The absolute difference of 7% (95% CI, -2% to 16%) corresponded to a relative reduction of 26% (stratified odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.41 to 1.1; P = .13). When considering only the per-protocol population with an assessable end point, the difference was 9% (stratified odds ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.35 to 1.0; P = .05). Total mastectomy rates were 18% (31 of 176) in the MRI arm and 17% (30 of 173) in the control arm (stratified P = .93). For 100 lesions seen on MRI, nonmass-like enhancement was more predominant (82%) than mass enhancement (20%). Nevertheless, no specific morphologic and kinetic parameters for DCIS were identified. CONCLUSION: The study did not show sufficient surgical improvement with the use of preoperative MRI to be clinically relevant in DCIS staging. However, this could be reconsidered with the improvement of new MRI sequences and new modalities in magnetic resonance techniques.

Adjuvant chemotherapy in lobular carcinoma of the breast: a clinicopathological score identifies high-risk patient with survival benefit.

BACKGROUND: Invasive lobular carcinomas (ILCs) represent approximately 10% of all breast cancers. Despite this high frequency, benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) is still unclear. METHODS: Our objective was to investigate the impact of CT on survival in ILC. Patients were retrospectively identified from a cohort of 23,319 patients who underwent primary surgery in 15 French centers between 1990 and 2014. Only ILC, hormone-positive, human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) were included. End-points were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). A propensity score for receiving CT, aiming to compensate for baseline characteristics, was used. RESULTS: Of a total of 2318 patients with ILC, 1485 patients (64%) received ET alone and 823 (36%) received ET + CT. We observed a beneficial effect of addition of CT to ET on DFS and OS in multivariate Cox model (HR = 0.61, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.41-0.90]; p = 0.01 and 0.52, 95% CI [0.31-0.87]; p = 0.01, respectively). This effect was even more pronounced when propensity score matching was used. Regarding subgroup analysis, low-risk patients without CT did not have significant differences in DFS or OS compared to low-risk patients with CT. CONCLUSION: ILC patients could derive significant DFS and OS benefits from CT, especially for high-risk patients.

Lymph node positivity in different early breast carcinoma phenotypes: a predictive model.

BACKGROUND: A strong correlation between breast cancer (BC) molecular subtypes and axillary status has been shown. It would be useful to predict the probability of lymph node (LN) positivity. OBJECTIVE: To develop the performance of multivariable models to predict LN metastases, including nomograms derived from logistic regression with clinical, pathologic variables provided by tumor surgical results or only by biopsy. METHODS: A retrospective cohort was randomly divided into two separate patient sets: a training set and a validation set. In the training set, we used multivariable logistic regression techniques to build different predictive nomograms for the risk of developing LN metastases. The discrimination ability and calibration accuracy of the resulting nomograms were evaluated on the training and validation set. RESULTS: Consecutive sample of 12,572 early BC patients with sentinel node biopsies and no neoadjuvant therapy. In our predictive macro metastases LN model, the areas under curve (AUC) values were 0.780 and 0.717 respectively for pathologic and pre-operative model, with a good calibration, and results with validation data set were similar: AUC respectively of 0.796 and 0.725. Among the list of candidate's regression variables, on the training set we identified age, tumor size, LVI, and molecular subtype as statistically significant factors for predicting the risk of LN metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Several nomograms were reported to predict risk of SLN involvement and NSN involvement. We propose a new calculation model to assess this risk of positive LN with similar performance which could be useful to choose management strategies, to avoid axillary LN staging or to propose ALND for patients with high level probability of major axillary LN involvement but also to propose immediate breast reconstruction when post mastectomy radiotherapy is not required for patients without LN macro metastasis.

Isolated ipsilateral local recurrence of breast cancer: predictive factors and prognostic impact.

BACKGROUND: Tumour features associated with isolated invasive breast cancer (BC) ipsilateral local recurrence (ILR) after breast conservative treatment (BCT) and consequences on overall survival (OS) are still debated. Our objective was to investigate these points. METHODS: Patients were retrospectively identified from a cohort of patients who underwent BCT for invasive BC in 16 cancer centres. End-points were ILR rate and OS. The impact of ILR on OS was assessed by multivariate analysis (MVA) for all patients and according to endocrine receptors (ERs) and grade or tumour subtypes. RESULTS: Of 15,570 patients, ILR rate was 3.1%. Cumulative ILR rates differed according to ERs/grade (ERs+/Grade2: HR 1.42, p = 0.010; ERs+/Grade3: HR 1.41, p = 0.067; ERs-: HR 2.14, p < 0.0001), endocrine therapy (HR 2.05, p < 0.0001) and age < 40-years old (HR 2.28, p = 0.005) in MVA. When MVA was adjusted on tumour subtype, the latter was the only independent factor. OS-after-ILR was significantly different according to ILR-free intervals (HR 4.96 for ILR-free interval between 2 and 5-years and HR 9.00 when < 2-years, in comparison with ≥ 5-years). CONCLUSION: ERs/Grade status, lack of endocrine therapy and tumour subtypes predict isolated ILR risk in patients treated with BCT. Short ILR-free-intervals represent a strong pejorative factor for OS. These results may help selecting initial treatment as well as tailoring ILR systemic chemotherapy.

Variations in the breast reconstruction rate in France: A nationwide study of 19,466 patients based on the French medico-administrative database.

BACKGROUND: Access to breast reconstruction (BR) surgery after a mastectomy remains limited, with a large degree of national and international variation despite its known psychological benefits and impact on quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing breast reconstruction in France where cancer-related healthcare costs are fully reimbursed. METHODS: All primary mastectomies for breast carcinoma performed in 2012 and linked BR surgeries from 2012 to December 2015 were extracted from the French medico-administrative database. A three-level logistic regression analysis was performed to model the probability of breast reconstruction according to patient, hospital and administrative region characteristics. RESULTS: Among the 19,466 women who had a mastectomy in 2012, 5328 (27.4%) had breast reconstruction. Multivariate analysis showed that the BR rate was lower in patients living in an area with an unfavourable socioeconomic level (p < .001), in low volume hospitals (p < .001), and in public hospitals (18.6%) compared to private hospitals (25.9%), university hospitals (29.8%), and cancer centres (35.0%) (p < .001). BR rate was significantly lower in patients older than 65 compared to those younger (7.5% versus 42.1%, p < .001). The impact of age was even greater in public hospitals than in other centres (interaction test, p = .001). We also observed significant heterogeneity in the BR rate across regions, which could be partially explained by differences in the plastic surgeon density. CONCLUSIONS: Breast reconstruction rate heterogeneity could be attributed to women choice. However, our study suggests that unequal access to high-quality procedures also plays a role, particularly for older breast cancer women.