The consequence of undertreatment of patients treated with breast conserving therapy for ductal carcinoma in-situ.

BACKGROUND: The use of clinical features to allocate adjuvant therapy in the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ with breast-conserving therapy remains controversial. METHODS: A review of patients with ductal carcinoma in situ treated with breast-conserving therapy was performed. The recurrence rate was examined in relation to patient age, tumor characteristics, Van Nuys Prognostic Index, and the receipt of prescribed adjuvant therapies. RESULTS: Six percent of patients (17 of 294) had developed local recurrences after a median follow-up period of 63 months. Fifty-nine percent of patients (91 of 154) with estrogen receptor-positive tumors did not receive prescribed tamoxifen. Thirty-one percent of patients (45 of 147) with Van Nuys Prognostic Index scores ≥7 did not receive recommended radiation therapy. Receipt of prescribed adjuvant therapy did not result in a decrease in the rate of local recurrence. Patient age was the only factor associated with local recurrence on univariate but not on multivariate analysis (P = .374). CONCLUSIONS: A low rate of local recurrence was achieved despite a large number of patients' not receiving prescribed adjuvant therapies.

The significance of lobular carcinoma in situ and atypical lobular hyperplasia of the breast.

BACKGROUND: The significance of lobular neoplasia (LN), lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH)) found at core needle biopsy (CNB) of the breast remains uncertain. There is a consistent risk of underestimating malignancy after the diagnosis of LN on CNB. The aim of this study was to determine if patients with a CNB result of LN need surgical excision. METHODS: Patients were identified by searching the institutions pathology database for the terms "lobular carcinoma in situ" and "atypical lobular hyperplasia" over 20 years. Excluded from this study were those with core needle biopsy (CNB) results of ductal carcinoma in situ, atypical ductal hyperplasia, radial scar, or papilloma. Upgrade was defined as final surgical pathology of invasive carcinoma and/or ductal carcinoma in situ that was directly correlated to the site of the initial biopsy containing LN. RESULTS: LN was found at CNB in 285 patients, and 71 % (n = 201) had subsequent surgical excisions. All patients with pleomorphic LCIS (pLCIS) underwent surgical excision. Following patients with pLCIS, patients with the diagnosis of LCIS were most likely to undergo surgical excision (80 %). Final pathology of the surgically excised specimens confirmed LN in 72 % (n = 144). Also, 13 % (n = 26) of the operated patients were upgraded to malignancy, including 8 % of ALH and 19 % of LCIS cases. CONCLUSION: This is the largest series of surgical excisional pathology following LN on CNB ever reported. The likelihood of finding malignancy at surgical excision after CNB showing LN was 13 %. Patients with the diagnosis of LN on CNB should be considered for surgical excision.

The value of mammography within 1 year of conservative surgery for breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Guidelines for screening mammography have been established by numerous medical societies. Guidelines have not been established for follow-up mammography for patients who have been treated with breast-conserving surgery. Many radiologists recommend mammography of the treated breast 6 months after completion of treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of interval mammography. METHODS: Patients were identified by searching the breast cancer database for the diagnoses of ductal carcinoma in situ, infiltrating ductal carcinoma and infiltrating lobular carcinoma. Postoperative mammogram dates and results were obtained. Patients with mammography within 8 months of surgery were included in the study. RESULTS: Ductal carcinoma in situ, infiltrating ductal carcinoma, and infiltrating lobular carcinoma were found in 1,000 patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery, and 789 patients had complete mammographic follow-up data available. Postoperative interval mammography was performed in 169 patients (21 %), including 23 patients who had preradiation mammography. Ninety percent of the interval mammograms were BI-RADS 1 to 3 and 10 % were BI-RADS 4 or 5. Two cancers were found on interval mammography (1.2 % of 169) and 4 of 620 (0.6 %) patients who did not have interval mammography were found to have malignancy within 1 year of surgery (1.2 % vs. 0.6 %, P = 0.614). The use of interval mammography was not related to the mammographic findings at diagnosis. Interval mammography did not affect local and distant disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS: The likelihood of obtaining a significant finding on short interval follow-up mammography after conservative surgery for breast cancer is 1.2 %.