Breast cancer metastasis to thymus.

Despite advancements in breast cancer management, metastatic disease remains a challenge. Thymic metastasis is an infrequent site of involvement. We intend to report a rare case of a woman in her 40s who presented with bilateral nipple discharge for 2 months. A triple assessment confirmed left breast carcinoma. A staging CT scan and positron emission tomography scan revealed an anterior mediastinal mass of thymic origin, and histology confirmed metastatic breast cancer. The patient made a good recovery following surgical and oncological treatment.

Efficacy of pre - operative axillary ultrasonography in excluding nodal disease: Can it replace sentinel lymph node biopsy in early stage breast cancer?

OBJECTIVE: To determine false negative rate, negative predictive value and the factors predicting false negativity of pre-treatment axillary ultrasound. METHODS: The retrospective study was conducted at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, and comprised data from January 2019 to December 2020 of patients with normal lymph nodes on ultrasound, tumour stages T1, T2 or T3 having invasive cancer who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy. Ultrasound findings were compared with the biopsy results, dividing the sample into false negative group A and true negative group B. Clinical, radiological, histopathological parameters and therapeutic strategies were compared between the two groups. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS: Of the 781 patients with mean age 49.39±11.51 years, 154(19.7%) were in group A and 627(80.2%) were in group B, with negative predictive value of 80.2%. Initial tumour size, histopathology, tumour grade, receptors, timing of chemotherapy, and type of surgery has significant difference between the groups (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed larger, high-grade, progesterone receptor negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive tumours were significantly associated with lower false negative rate on axillary ultrasound (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Axillary ultrasound was found to be effective in ruling out axillary nodal disease, especially in patients with high-burden axillary disease, aggressive tumour biology, larger tumour size and higher timour grade.

Superscan on 18F-FDG PET-CT imaging for lymphoma: How frequent is it?

This retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of PET superscan in baseline staging scans of lymphoma patients.The study was conducted at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Lahore, from October 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019. A retrospective review of baseline PET-CT scans of 203 lymphoma patients, performed during the period of October 1, 2017 to August31,2018, was done from the institutional database. Out of these 203 patients, PET superscan pattern was observed in 13 (6.4%) patients, 08 (61.5%) males and 05 (38.5%) females. Eight (61.5%) patients had Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, while 05 (38.5%)had Hodgkin's lymphoma. Based on TNM staging 10 (76.9%) patients had stage IV disease, 01 (07.6%) had stage III disease, and 2 (15.4%) had stage II disease. PET-CT superscan pattern is uncommon and is not dependent on the stage of the disease. It should be recognised in clinical practice as it suggests a poor prognosis.

Recurrence Yield of Stereotactic Biopsy of Suspicious Calcifications After Breast Conservation Therapy.

Aim To analyze the histopathological outcome of stereotactic biopsies of newly developed suspicious calcifications at lumpectomy scar site in patients with breast conservation surgery (BCS) to determine the incidence of malignancy and the association of mammographic appearance of recurrent microcalcification and their distribution. We also determined the association of disease recurrence with the presence of calcifications in original tumor and lumpectomy resection margins with the risk of recurrence. Materials and methods This study is a retrospective review of mammograms of patients with breast cancer from 2010 to 2021 who underwent stereotactic biopsy of newly developed suspicious calcifications at scar site appreciated on annual follow-up mammogram after breast conservation surgery (BCS) with no mass on correlative ultrasound. The radiological and pathological features of the patients' primary tumor and new calcifications were obtained from the hospital's electronic patient record system. Results A total of 84 patients with breast cancer developed suspicious microcalcifications at the lumpectomy scar site detected on follow-up mammograms after BCS, and 28.6% showed malignant histopathological outcomes. All malignant cases demonstrated pleomorphic morphology. All amorphous (9.5%) and coarse heterogeneous (54.8%) calcifications were benign. The distribution pattern of recurrent malignant calcifications was grouped in 9.5%, regional in 2.4%, linear in 9.5%, and segmental in 7.1%. Calcifications in primary tumors were found in 20.2% of cases. Positive margins were found in 7.1% of these malignant cases. Statistically, there was a strong association between calcification morphology, calcification distribution, presence of calcifications on baseline mammogram, and tumor resection margins. The presence of calcifications in primary tumors and positive resection margins were identified as significant independent risk factors of malignant recurrent calcifications in the logistic regression model and marginal statistical significance in the multivariable logistic regression (MLR) model. Conclusion The interval development of pleomorphic calcifications after BCS with either linear or segmental pattern, positive resection margins, and associated calcifications in primary tumors was related to the increase in the risk of recurrence. Although amorphous and coarse heterogeneous morphology with grouped distribution showed benign outcomes, stereotactic biopsy is recommended to exclude disease recurrence in this high-risk patient population.

Metastatic Choriocarcinoma of the Breast: A Rare Entity.

Breast neoplasms are becoming more common in the last few years. Among these masses, metastasis to the breast is rare. Extra-gestational choriocarcinoma is extremely rare among breast neoplasms. We intend to present a case of a 30-year-old female with complaints of breast and axillary lumps. She had a history of a previously treated uterine trophoblastic tumor. Subsequently, she underwent a trucut biopsy of the breast mass and the axillary node, revealing metastatic choriocarcinoma.

Role of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in the Evaluation of Post-Treatment Tumor Response in Rectal Carcinoma.

Introduction Rectal cancer has become a major cause of mortality worldwide. Imaging has a primary role in staging and assessing the response to therapy. MRI is superior to all other modalities in local staging of the rectal tumor and in predicting tumor response. Pelvic MRI has an undeniable role in the therapeutic management of rectal cancer, particularly for the determination of the circumferential resection margin (CRM), evaluation of sphincter invasion, and assessment of the extramural vascular invasion. Post-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) staging aims at assessing treatment response and choosing methods for further treatment such as surgical resection or extended CRT. MRI with diffusion restriction is a non-invasive and useful tool for assessing the treatment response of locally advanced lower rectal cancer. It will reduce the burden of extensive abdominoperineal resection (APR) surgery in patients. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the evaluation of post-treatment tumor response in rectal carcinoma. Materials and methods The study was approved by our institutional review board, which waived the requirement for informed consent. The clinical data of all the patients treated for rectal carcinoma at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore between February 1, 2014, and February 28, 2019, were retrospectively evaluated. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients with histopathologically proven rectal adenocarcinoma, (2) those who underwent APR before February 2019 at our hospital, and (3) those who underwent MRI including DWI/apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) imaging before and after CRT. Those patients who had upfront surgery without neoadjuvant CRT and those who did not have MRI imaging with DWI/ADC were excluded from the study. Results A total of 200 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this study. Among those, 141 were males and 59 were females. On histology, 110 had moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, 25 had well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, and 65 had poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas. Overall diagnostic accuracy of DWI MRI sequence was calculated to be 91%, while the sensitivity was 98.09%, specificity was 65.12%, positive predictive value was 91.12%, and negative predictive value was 90.32%. Conclusion DWI was proven to be very useful in the post-treatment evaluation of tumor response with very high diagnostic accuracy.

Imaging Characteristics of Breast Lymphoma; a Case Series.

Introduction: Breast involvement by lymphoma is rare. It can occur as a primary breast tumour or as an extranodal manifestation of the systemic disease. The imaging features of breast lymphoma (BL) are not characteristic. Biopsy is necessary for diagnosis due to non-specific imaging features. Materials and Methods: A retrospective electronic medical chart review was conducted of patients diagnosed with lymphoma of breast that underwent diagnostic radiological procedures (including mammography, ultrasound breast, computed tomography (CT) scan and positron emission tomography (PET/CT) scan from 1 July 2018 to 31 March 2019 at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Pakistan. Results: Four patients were identified. On mammogram, the most common finding consisted of the presence of high-density masses with circumscribed or indistinct margins. On ultrasound, hypoechoic masses and indistinct diffuse infiltrative patterns were observed. PET/CT and CT were helpful in detecting extramammary sites of disease and for classifying the disease into primary or secondary BL. Conclusion: The early diagnosis of the BL is important. The radiologists should include lymphoma in the differential diagnosis when there is the absence of microcalcifications or spiculated margins on mammography and ultrasound.