Evaluation of breast screening strategies in a high risk breast and ovarian cancer clinic.

Recent data suggest that BRCA mutation carriers younger than 40 may not benefit from mammography in addition to MRI. Our objective was to evaluate screening modalities utilized in a high-risk population. Clinicopathologic data were abstracted for patients followed in a high risk clinic from 2007 to 2017. Descriptive statistics were calculated and associations between categorical variables were evaluated using chi-square tests. 631 women comprised the study population; 496 patients had no known mutation (79%), 128 (20%) had a BRCA mutation, and 7 patients had other deleterious mutations. BRCA mutation carriers were more likely to have cancers diagnosed after mammogram callbacks (p = 0.0046) and biopsies (p = 0.0026) compared to non-BRCA mutation carriers. BRCA mutation carriers were also more likely to have cancers diagnosed after biopsies following screening MRI (p = 0.045). 13 BRCA patients were diagnosed with cancer (average age 51). Of the cancers diagnosed after abnormal MRI, 3 were DCIS; all 3 patients had a normal mammogram 4-6 months prior. In those found after abnormal mammogram (n = 6), follow up MRI was performed in 4 cases; all demonstrated the lesion. Three patients were diagnosed younger than 40, 1 on mammogram and 2 on MRI. The patient diagnosed on mammogram had no prior MRI and the lesion was seen on follow-up MRI. Interval screening MRI identified DCIS in BRCA patients with a previous normal mammogram and cancers diagnosed on mammogram were all identified on follow-up MRI. These findings support further evaluation of MRI alone until age 40 in BRCA mutation carriers.

Diabetes Mellitus and Metformin Are Not Associated With Breast Cancer Pathologic Complete Response.

BACKGROUND: Metformin use has been linked to pathologic complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for several malignancies. We aimed to investigate the association of diabetes mellitus (DM) and metformin use with pCR in breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy during June 2013-October 2016 at two academic medical centers were identified. A retrospective cohort study evaluated patients who did and did not achieve pCR. Multivariable logistic regression identified independent predictors of pCR, specifically looking at metformin use and DM. RESULTS: The study group included 351 breast cancer patients, with 90 (25.6%) achieving pCR after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The rate of DM did not differ between those with and without pCR, nor did the rate of metformin use. Multivariable logistic regression identified HER2-positive tumors and smaller preoperative tumor size as predictors of pCR. The estrogen receptor (ER) positivity was associated with an absence of pCR. Importantly, neither DM nor metformin use was predictive of pCR. CONCLUSIONS: This study by the two institutions supports previous data of tumor-related factors known to be associated with pCR; however, the current analysis found neither DM nor metformin to be independently associated with pCR. Thus, additional prospective study is warranted prior to validating metformin as an antitumor agent.

The impact of bariatric surgery on qualitative and quantitative breast density.

BACKGROUND: Obesity and breast density are associated with breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Bariatric surgery effectively treats morbid obesity, with sustainable weight loss and reductions in cancer incidence. We evaluated changes in qualitative and quantitative density; hypothesizing breast density would increase following bariatric surgery. METHODS: Women undergoing bariatric surgery from 1990 to 2015 were identified, excluding patients without a mammogram performed both before and after surgery. Changes in body mass index (BMI), time between mammograms and surgery, and American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) scores were assessed. VolparaDensity™ automated software calculated volumetric breast density (VBD), fibroglandular volume (FGV), and total breast volume for the 82 women with digital data available. Differences between pre- and postsurgery values were assessed. RESULTS: One hundred eighty women were included. Median age at surgery was 50.0 years, with 8.8 months between presurgery mammogram and surgery and 62.3 months between surgery and postsurgery mammogram. Median BMI significantly decreased over the study period (46.0 vs 35.4 kg/m2 ; P < 0.001). No change in BI-RADS scores was seen between the pre- and postsurgery mammograms. Eighty-two women had VolparaDensity™ data available. While VBD increased in these patients, FGV and total breast volume both decreased following bariatric surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Increased VBD, decreased FGV, and decreased total breast volume were seen following bariatric surgery-induced weight loss. There was no difference in qualitative breast density, highlighting the discrepancy between BI-RADS and VolparaDensity™ measurements. Further investigation will be required to determine how differential changes in components of breast density may affect breast cancer risk.

Evaluation of screening and risk-reducing surgery for women followed in a high-risk breast/ovarian cancer clinic: it is all about the tubes in BRCA mutation carriers.

The objectives of this study were to determine both surgical and subsequent cancer outcomes for high-risk women from the University of Virginia's High-Risk Breast/Ovarian Cancer clinic undergoing ovarian cancer risk-reducing surgery. Retrospective review identified high risk women who had ovarian risk reducing surgery over the past decade and surgical outcomes, pathology, pre-operative screening results, and pre-/post-operative cancer diagnoses were evaluated. One hundred and eighty-three high-risk women had risk reducing surgery at a mean age of 50.1 years and with a mean BMI of 28.9 kg/m2 at the time of surgery. Most women (103; 56.3%) had a strong family history of cancer concerning for a hereditary syndrome without an identified mutation, 35.5% of women carried a known deleterious mutation and 7.7% of women had a personal history of breast or ovarian cancer. The most common procedure was a risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy with or without hysterectomy (RRBSO, 89.1%). All women underwent the Sectioning and Extensively Examining the Fimbriated End (SEE-FIM) pathology protocol which found two (1.1%) invasive ovarian cancers (one ovarian/tubal carcinosarcoma, one granulosa cell ovarian cancer), three (1.6%) serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STIC), and one (1.1%) invasive fallopian tube cancer. Subsequent cancer diagnoses included one (0.5%) primary peritoneal cancer, four (2.2%) DCIS, and seven (3.8%) invasive breast cancers. Ultimately, among all high-risk women undergoing RR surgery, about 3.3% were diagnosed with a STIC or an ovarian cancer none of which were identified on screening. All STIC and tubal cancers were diagnosed in women with BRCA mutations (6.6% rate for this group).

Race is associated with completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Completion of prescribed neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer is paramount to patients obtaining full benefit from the treatment; however, factors affecting neoadjuvant chemotherapy completion are not known. We hypothesized that race is a predictor of completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: All patients with breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy 2009-2016 at a single institution were stratified by completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and by race. Univariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify patient and tumor characteristics that affected the rate of neoadjuvant chemotherapy completion. RESULTS: A total of 92 (74%) of 124 patients completed their prescribed neoadjuvant chemotherapy. On univariate analysis, white patients were more likely to complete neoadjuvant chemotherapy than non-white patients (76% vs 50%, P = .006). Non-white patients were more likely to have government insurance and larger prechemotherapy tumors (both, P < .05), but these factors were not associated with rates of neoadjuvant chemotherapy completion. After controlling for age, insurance status, tumor size, and estrogen receptor status, whites remained associated with completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (OR 3.65, P = .014). CONCLUSION: At our institution, white patients with breast cancer were more likely than non-white patients to complete neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Further investigation into the underlying factors impacting this disparity is needed.