The effect of 1-day multidisciplinary clinic on breast cancer treatment.

PURPOSE: A delay in breast cancer treatment is associated with inferior survival outcomes; however, no clear guidelines exist defining the appropriate time frame from diagnosis to definitive treatment of breast cancer. A multidisciplinary approach for breast cancer treatment can minimize the time from diagnosis to first treatment. We hypothesized single-day multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) may accelerate the time to first treatment on complex breast cancer cases at our institution. METHODS: We identified patients who were treated at Johns Hopkins for stage II or III breast cancer, who were at least 18 years of age, and were seen in a new single-day MDC with coordination between two or three specialties or by specialists from varying disciplines on different days (IDC). Patients who initiated treatment between May 2015 (initiation of MDC clinic) and December 2017 were included in our study. RESULTS: A total of 296 patient records were reviewed independently. The mean (SD) patient age was 55 (13) years. The median time to first neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) was significantly reduced for patients seen in the MDC (12.7 days), compared to those seen at the IDC (24.4 days, logrank p < 0.001). The median time to definitive surgery was similar between groups (31 and 32 days for the MDC and IDC cohorts, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: A single-day MDC visit is associated with a reduced time from diagnosis to NACT. Further studies are needed to determine if a shorter interval can improve the management and the outcome of complex breast cancer cases.

Soft Tissue Reconstruction for Deep Defects over a Complicated Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review.

Deep soft tissue defects after complicated primary or revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can be devastating to the patient and technically challenging. The purpose of this review was to (1) discuss different methods used to provide coverage for deep defects of the knee following TKA, as well as to (2) report on their success rates. A comprehensive literature search was performed. Reports were only included if they (1) were case series, (2) were level III studies or above (including retrospective cohort studies and meta-analyses), (3) were in English, and (4) discussed the outcome of graft or flap coverage of soft tissue defects after total knee arthroplasty. A total of 28 case series and four retrospective comparative studies were retrieved. In 16 studies, 195 out of 241 patients who received gastrocnemius flaps (81%) experienced successful outcomes. In seven studies including 84 patients that underwent fasciocutaneous flap coverage, over 90% of patients experienced successful outcomes. In the four studies examining 144 patients with delayed versus prophylactic soft tissue reconstruction, up to 81% of patients experienced a successful outcome. Various factors must be taken into consideration when assessing full-thickness defects over a TKA and collaboration between plastic and orthopaedic surgeons is required to select the optimal approach.

Local Recurrence of Benign, Borderline, and Malignant Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate local recurrence (LR) rates among the three grades (benign, borderline, and malignant) of phyllodes tumors (PTs). The study also assessed various risk factors for LR. METHODS: Electronic articles published between 1 January 1995 and 31 May 2018, were searched and critically appraised. The authors independently reviewed the abstracts and extracted data for LR rates and LR risk factors. RESULTS: The review incorporated 54 studies with 9234 individual cases. The pooled LR rates were 8% for benign, 13% for borderline, and 18% for malignant PTs. The risk of LR was significantly increased by borderline versus benign PTs (odds ratio [OR] 2.00; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.68-2.38) and malignant versus borderline PTs (OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.05-1.55). The significant risk factors for LR were mitoses, tumor border (infiltrating vs. pushing), stromal cellularity (moderate/severe vs. mild), stromal atypia (severe vs. mild/absent), stromal overgrowth (severe vs. mild/absent), and tumor necrosis (positive vs. negative). Age and tumor size were not associated with LR risk. The subgroup analysis showed that breast-conserving surgery versus mastectomy and positive versus negative surgical margins were significantly associated with an increased LR risk only in malignant PTs. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of LR was significantly increased from benign to borderline to malignant PTs. Mitoses, tumor border, stromal cellularity, stromal atypia, stromal overgrowth, tumor necrosis, type of surgery, and surgical margin status may be risk factors for LR. Different management strategies could be considered for different PT grades.