The prognostic value of tumour-stroma ratio in primary breast cancer with special attention to triple-negative tumours: a review.

PURPOSE: There is a strong need to improve the prognostication of breast cancer patients in order to prevent over- and undertreatment, especially when considering adjuvant chemotherapy. Tumour stroma characteristics might be valuable in predicting disease progression. METHODS: Studies regarding the prognostic value of tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) in breast cancer are evaluated. RESULTS: A high stromal content is related to a relatively poor prognosis. The most pronounced prognostic effect of this parameter seems to be observed in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. CONCLUSIONS: TSR assessment might represent a simple, fast and reproducible prognostic factor at no extra costs, and could possibly be incorporated into routine pathological diagnostics. Despite these advantages, a robust clinical validation of this parameter has yet to be established in prospective studies.

[Fatal cerebral oedema during the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis in an adult male]. / Fataal hersenoedeem bij behandeling van een volwassene met diabetische ketoacidose.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is relatively common, but the optimal treatment of this condition is still controversial. Cerebral oedema is a rare, but potentially fatal complication. We present the case of an adult patient who presented with de novo diabetic ketoacidosis that was complicated by cerebral oedema during treatment. In this article we discuss factors that may have played a role in the development of this complication. A prolonged hyperosmolar state in diabetic ketoacidosis may increase the risk of cerebral oedema as a result of cerebral compensatory mechanisms. In this group of patients, liberal doses of insulin, fluids and bicarbonate may lead to a decrease in the effective serum osmolarity which can lead to water shifts in the cerebrum. We suggest several adjustments to current treatment guidelines for patients with diabetic ketoacidosis who have undergone a prolonged period of hyperosmolar derangement, with the aim of decreasing the risk of cerebral oedema.

[A woman with hyperpigmentation and dark urine]. / Een vrouw met hyperpigmentatie en zwarte urine.

A 54-year-old patient was evaluated because of fever shortly after she had started treatment of a BRAF-mutated melanoma with BRAF- and MEK-inhibitors. Diffuse hyperpigmentation of the skin was noted as an incidental finding. She also had darkly coloured urine. This hyperpigmentation was most likely the result of diffuse cutaneous melanosis secondary to advanced melanoma. This complication results from the release of melanin or its precursor molecules into the systemic circulation. Although diffuse cutaneous melanosis is commonly regarded as an ominous prognostic sign, this patient has so far responded well to targeted therapy.

Quality assessment of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor testing in breast cancer using a tissue microarray-based approach.

Assessing hormone receptor status is an essential part of the breast cancer diagnosis, as this biomarker greatly predicts response to hormonal treatment strategies. As such, hormone receptor testing laboratories are strongly encouraged to participate in external quality control schemes to achieve optimization of their immunohistochemical assays. Nine Dutch pathology departments provided tissue blocks containing invasive breast cancers which were all previously tested for estrogen receptor and/or progesterone receptor expression during routine practice. From these tissue blocks, tissue microarrays were constructed and tested for hormone receptor expression. When a discordant result was found between the local and TMA result, the original testing slide was revised and staining was repeated on a whole-tissue block. Sensitivity and specificity of individual laboratories for testing estrogen receptor expression were high, with an overall sensitivity and specificity [corrected] of 99.7 and 95.4%, respectively. Overall sensitivity and specificity of progesterone receptor testing were 94.8 and 92.6%, respectively. Out of 96 discordant cases, 36 cases would have been concordant if the recommended cut-off value of 1% instead of 10% was followed. Overall sensitivity and specificity of estrogen and progesterone receptor testing were high among participating laboratories. Continued enrollment of laboratories into quality control schemes is essential for achieving and maintaining the highest standard of care for breast cancer patients.

Disorganised stroma determined on pre-treatment breast cancer biopsies is associated with poor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Results from the NEOZOTAC trial.

INTRODUCTION: The tumor-associated stroma is of importance for tumor progression and is generally accepted to have a significant influence on patient prognosis. However, little is known regarding specific features of tumor-associated stromal tissues and response to (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy. This study investigated the predictive value of extracellular matrix organization on response to chemotherapy in patients treated in the NEOZOTAC trial. METHODS: Stromal organisation was analyzed via a simple method using image analysis software on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides from primary tumor biopsies collected as part of the NEOZOTAC trial. Heidenhain's AZAN trichrome-stained slides were also analyzed for comparison of collagen evaluation. Sections were stained for phospho-Smad2 (pS2) in order to determine the relationship of TGF-ß signaling with stromal organization. RESULTS: A statistically significant relationship was observed between stroma consisting of organised collagen and pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Odds Ratio 0.276, 95%CI 0.124-0.614, P = 0.002). This parameter was also related to ER-status (P = 0.003), clinical tumor -status (P = 0.041), nodal status (P = 0.029) and pS2 status (P = 0.025). Correlation between stromal organisation determined on H&E-stained and AZAN-stained tissue sections was high (Pearson's correlation coefficient = 0.806). CONCLUSION: Intratumoral stromal organisation determined using pre-treatment breast cancer biopsies was related to pathological response to chemotherapy. This parameter might play a role in the management of breast cancer for identifying those patients that are likely to benefit from neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Quantitative assessment of lymph vascular space invasion (LVSI) provides important prognostic information in node-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Some studies investigating the prognostic value of lymph vascular space invasion (LVSI) have shown an association between LVSI and disease-free survival. Definitive criteria and optimal determination of this parameter remain unclear, however, especially regarding the clinical relevance of LVSI quantification. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A subset of node-negative breast carcinomas from premenopausal patients from the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer trial 10854 (assessing efficacy of perioperative chemotherapy patients with T1-T3, N0-2, and M0 breast cancer (BC) was selected and scored for LVSI. In 358 evaluable breast carcinomas, the number of LVSI foci and tumor cells was determined in the largest tumor embolus within the lymph vessels. These two parameters were multiplied to calculate the LVSI tumor burden (LVSI TB). The optimal cutoff for this parameter was calculated in a test set (N = 120), tested in a validation set (N = 238), and compared with simple quantitation of the number of LVSI foci. RESULTS: Tumors with a single LVSI focus are not associated with increased risk for relapse [hazard ratio (HR) 1.423, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.762-2.656]. The LVSI TB had higher sensitivity and specificity compared with simple determination of the number of LVSI foci. LVSI TB was independently associated with disease-free survival in the validation set (HR 2.366, 95% CI 1.369-4.090, P = 0.002) in multivariate analysis and provided prognostic information in both the low- and high-risk node-negative BC groups (P < 0.001 and P = 0.007, respectively). CONCLUSION: The determination of the number of LVSI foci multiplied by the number of tumor cells gives the most reliable quantitative assessment of this parameter, which can provide prognostic information in node-negative BC.

Prognostic significance of the tumor-stroma ratio: validation study in node-negative premenopausal breast cancer patients from the EORTC perioperative chemotherapy (POP) trial (10854).

The tumor-stroma ratio has previously been shown to be prognostic for patients with invasive breast cancer. We present a validation study to assess the prognostic significance in lymph node-negative, premenopausal patients from the perioperative chemotherapy trial (POP trial, 10854) conducted by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. The POP trial assessed the efficacy of one course of perioperative chemotherapy (consisting of fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections were retrieved from a subset of premenopausal, node-negative patients from this trial and were scored for the percentage of intra-tumoral stroma. The tumor-stroma ratio was associated with disease-free survival in univariate and multivariate analysis. Tumors with a high tumor-stroma ratio had an increased hazard of 1.853 for disease relapse (95 %CI 1.327-2.585, P < 0.001) independent of other parameters. Combining other parameters with the tumor-stroma ratio improved risk stratification. For triple-negative tumors, the tumor-stroma ratio was associated with an increased hazard for disease relapse, independent of other parameters (HR 2.711, 95 %CI 1.111-6.614, P = 0.028). The tumor-stroma ratio was also independently associated with locoregional recurrence even in breast cancer patients ≤40 years of age (HR 2.201, 95 %CI 1.038-4.669, P = 0.040). This study validates the prognostic value of the tumor-stroma ratio. This parameter can be easily assessed on HE slides and can be implemented next to pathological staging reports to determine patient prognosis.

The prognostic role of TGF-ß signaling pathway in breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) pathway has dual effects on tumor growth. Seemingly, discordant results have been published on the relation between TGF-ß signaling markers and prognosis in breast cancer. Improved prognostic information for breast cancer patients might be obtained by assessing interactions among TGF-ß signaling biomarkers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression of nuclear Smad4, nuclear phosphorylated-Smad2 (p-Smad2), and the membranous expression of TGF-ß receptors I and II (TßRI and TßRII) was determined on a tissue microarray of 574 breast carcinomas. Tumors were stratified according to the Smad4 expression in combination with p-Smad2 expression or Smad4 in combination with the expression of both TGF-ß receptors. RESULTS: Tumors with high expression of TßRII, TßRI and TßRII, and p-Smad2 (P = 0.018, 0.005, and 0.022, respectively), and low expression of Smad4 (P = 0.005) had an unfavorable prognosis concerning progression-free survival. Low Smad4 expression combined with high p-Smad2 expression or low expression of Smad4 combined with high expression of both TGF-ß receptors displayed an increased hazard ratio of 3.04 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.390-6.658] and 2.20 (95% CI 1.464-3.307), respectively, for disease relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Combining TGF-ß biomarkers provides prognostic information for patients with stage I-III breast cancer. This can identify patients at increased risk for disease recurrence that might therefore be candidates for additional treatment.

Reliability of core needle biopsy for determining ER and HER2 status in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have assessed the concordance of estrogen receptor (ER) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status between core needle biopsy (CNB) and resection specimens, usually in small patient series and with discordant results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ER and HER2 status determined on CNB and tissue micro-arrays of resected tumors were compared for patients treated at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). When results were discordant, whole-sized slides were analyzed. Additionally, literature was searched for published patient series and combined with our data to assess the concordance of ER and HER2 determination between CNB and resection specimens. RESULTS: In the LUMC series, concordance for ER status was 99.1%. Combined concordance from 20 studies and the LUMC patient series was 93.7%. For HER2 testing, concordance was 96.2% for patients in the LUMC series. Our study and three others have investigated the concordance when HER2 was determined according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology and College of Pathology guidelines and overall concordance was 97.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Concordance between CNB and surgical specimens was high for both ER and HER2 testing. However, we recommend retesting ER-negative CNB results on the surgical specimen and performing in situ hybridization assays on HER2 immunohistochemistry 3+ CNBs to confirm HER2 status.

Discordances in ER, PR and HER2 receptors after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer is evolving and subsequent adjuvant systemic treatment is mainly based on the presence of the Estrogen (ER) receptor, Progesterone (PR) receptor and Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2) status on the core needle biopsy prior to treatment. It is not well known whether these biomarkers change after NAC, requiring a change in further adjuvant systemic treatment. A review of the literature (PubMed search) revealed 32 relevant studies that investigated the concordance of the hormone receptors (ER and/or PR) and HER2 after NAC with or without trastuzumab. Discordance of the hormone receptor status was reported in four out of eight studies in 8-33% of the patients. About half of the studies that tested the ER and PR receptor status separately reported discordances of 2.5-17% and 5.9-51.7% respectively. Studies that concluded that ER and/or PR receptor remained stable after NAC were performed with evidently lower number of patients compared to studies that reported a change. Good concordance of the HER2 amplification tested with FISH was reported, although the HER2 expression measured with immunohistochemistry was more discordant. A switch to a negative HER2 receptor in up to 43% of the patients was reported when NAC was combined with trastuzumab. Until more comparable studies are being published, retesting the receptor status of the residual tumor after NAC should be considered in order to improve future tailored adjuvant therapies.

First-line chemotherapy for malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) versus other histological soft tissue sarcoma subtypes and as a prognostic factor for MPNST: an EORTC soft tissue and bone sarcoma group study.

BACKGROUND: the role of chemotherapy in advanced malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: chemotherapy-naive soft tissue sarcomas (STS) patients treated on 12 pooled nonrandomized and randomized European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group trials were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical outcomes, overall survival, progression-free survival (PFS) and response were determined for MPNST and other STS histotypes and compared. Additionally, prognostic factors within the MPNST population were defined. Studied cofactors were demographics, sarcoma history, disease extent and chemotherapy regimen. RESULTS: after a median follow-up of 4.1 years, 175 MPNST out of 2675 eligible STS patients were analyzed. Outcome was similar for MPNST versus other STS histotypes, with a response rate, median PFS and overall survival of 21% versus 22%, 17 versus 16 weeks and 48 versus 51 weeks, respectively. Performance status was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Chemotherapy regimen was an independent prognostic factor for response (P < 0.0001) and PFS (P = 0.009). Compared with standard first-line doxorubicin, the doxorubicin-ifosfamide regimen had the best response, whereas ifosfamide had the worst prognosis. CONCLUSION: this series indicates the role of chemotherapy in treatment of advanced MPNST. This first comparison showed similar outcomes for MPNST and other STS histotypes. The apparent superiority of the doxorubicin-ifosfamide regimen justifies further investigations of this combination in randomized trials.