Factors impacting the accuracy of intra-operative evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer.

Sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) is a standard axillary staging technique in breast cancer and intraoperative sentinel lymph node (SLN) assessment is important for decision-making regarding additional treatment and reconstruction. This study was undertaken to investigate clinicopathologic factors impacting the accuracy of intraoperative SLN evaluation. Records of patients with clinically node-negative, invasive breast cancer who underwent SLND with frozen section intraoperative pathologic evaluation from 2004 to 2007 were reviewed. Intraoperative SLN assessment results were compared to final pathology. Patients with positive SLNs that were initially reported as negative during intraoperative assessment were considered false negative (FN) events. Primary tumor histology, grade, receptor status, size, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), multifocality, neoadjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy, number of SLNs retrieved, and SLN metastasis size were evaluated. The study included 681 patients, of whom 262 (38%) received neoadjuvant therapy. There were 183 (27%) patients who had a positive SLN on final pathology, of whom 60 (33%) had FN events. On univariate analysis, lobular histology, favorable histology, absence of LVI and micrometastasis were associated with a higher FN rate. On multivariate analysis, favorable and lobular histology and micrometastasis were independent predictors of FN events whereas LVI and receipt of neoadjuvant therapy were not statistically significant predictors. The accuracy of intraoperative SLN evaluation for breast cancer is affected by primary tumor histology and size of the SLN metastasis. There was no significant association between neoadjuvant therapy and the FN rate by intraoperative assessment. This information may be helpful in counseling patients about their risk for a FN intraoperative SLN assessment and for planning for immediate breast reconstruction in patients undergoing mastectomy.

Introducing the SKIN score: a validated scoring system to assess severity of mastectomy skin flap necrosis.

BACKGROUND: With increasing use of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR), mastectomy skin flap necrosis (MSFN) is a clinical problem that deserves further study. We propose a validated scoring system to discriminate MSFN severity and standardize its assessment. METHODS: Women who underwent skin-sparing (SSM) or nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) and IBR from November 2009 to October 2010 were studied retrospectively. A workgroup of breast and plastic surgeons scored postoperative photographs using the skin ischemia necrosis (SKIN) score to assess depth and surface area of MSFN. We evaluated correlation of the SKIN score with reoperation for MSFN and its reproducibility in an external sample of surgeons. RESULTS: We identified 106 subjects (175 operated breasts: 103 SSM, 72 NSM) who had ≥1 postoperative photograph within 60 days. SKIN scores correlated strongly with need for reoperation for MSFN, with an AUC of 0.96 for SSM and 0.89 for NSM. External scores agreed well with the gold standard scores for the breast mound photographs with weighted kappa values of 0.82 (depth), 0.56 (surface area), and 0.79 (composite score). The agreement was similar for the nipple-areolar complex photographs: 0.75 (depth), 0.63 (surface area), and 0.79 (composite score). CONCLUSIONS: A simple scoring system to assess the severity of MSFN is proposed, incorporating both depth and surface area of MSFN. The SKIN score correlates strongly with the need for reoperation to manage MSFN and is reproducible among breast and plastic surgeons.

Inferior dermal flap in immediate breast reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: The inferior dermal flap can be used in conjunction with implants or tissue expanders to avoid need for acellular dermal matrix in breast reconstruction and on occasion can serve as an alternative to an autologous flap by functioning as a reconstructed breast mound. Candidates for this procedure are women with high BMI or breast ptosis who desire a decrease in breast size at time of mastectomy with reconstruction. This procedure recruits the de-epithelialized excess skin inferiorly and laterally from a skin-sparing mastectomy and uses this to eliminate the need for acellular dermal matrix in a cost-conscious environment. METHODS: The skin-sparing mastectomy is performed, and the inferior skin flap is de-epithelialized to create the inferior dermal pedicle. A gel implant is placed retropectorally, and the inferior dermal flap is sutured to the inferior border of the pectoralis major muscle and laterally to a muscle-sparing serratus pedicle to provide support and coverage of the implant. RESULTS: We have performed this procedure in several patients and present a video outlining the technique of this procedure in a 54-year-old female diagnosed with left breast DCIS. Postoperative pictures taken at 6 weeks showed an excellent cosmetic result without complications. CONCLUSIONS: The inferior dermal flap is a simple and reproducible procedure that can reduce cost by eliminating the use of acellular dermal matrix. It provides an excellent cosmetic outcome in women undergoing mastectomy with large BMI and breast ptosis seeking reduction in breast size.

Novel factors to improve prediction of nodal positivity in patients with clinical T1/T2 breast cancers.

BACKGROUND: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) have established nomograms to predict sentinel node positivity. We propose the addition of two novel variables-distance of tumor from the nipple and from the skin-can improve their performance. METHODS: Ultrasounds of clinical T1/T2 tumors were reviewed. Distances of the tumor from the skin and from the nipple were measured. MSKCC and MDACC nomogram predictions and the AUC-ROC for each model were calculated. The added utility of the two variables was then examined using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 401 cancers studied, 79 (19.7 %) were node positive. The mean distance of tumors from the nipple in node-positive patients was 4.9 cm compared with 6.0 cm in node-negative patients (p = 0.0007). The mean distance of tumors from the skin was closer in node-positive cases (0.8 cm) versus node-negative cases (1.0 cm, p = 0.0007). The MSKCC and MDACC nomograms AUC-ROC values were 0.71 (95 % CI 0.64-0.77) and 0.74 (95 % CI 0.68-0.81). When adjusted for the MSKCC predicted probability, addition of both distance from nipple (p = 0.008) and distance from skin (p = 0.02) contributed significantly to prediction of nodal positivity and improved the AUC-ROC to 0.75 (95 % CI 0.70-0.81). Similarly, distance from nipple (p = 0.002), but not distance from skin (p = 0.09), added modestly to the MDACC nomogram performance (AUC 0.77; 95 % CI 0.71-0.83). CONCLUSIONS: Distance of tumor from the nipple and from the skin are important variables associated with nodal positivity. Adding these to established nomograms improves prediction of nodal positivity.