Breast Sarcomas: Experience of a Reference Center in Colombia.

Introduction  Breast sarcomas are tumors of a mesenchymal origin, with an incidence of less than 1% of the total breast tumors. The diagnosis of this disease is a challenge for pathologists, radiologists, and breast surgeons.  Aim To describe the diagnostic, therapeutic, and outcomes approach of patients with breast sarcoma treated at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bogota, Colombia.  Materials and methods It is a descriptive and retrospective case series study of patients diagnosed with breast sarcoma treated at the NCI during the period between August 1, 2016 and March 30, 2019.  Results  We identified 14 patients diagnosed with breast sarcoma, 10 (71.4%) patients with primary breast sarcomas, and four (28.6%) with sarcomas associated with radiotherapy. The most frequent histological subtype in both, primary and secondary sarcomas, was angiosarcoma (n = 5, 35.7%). 100% (n = 14) of patients received surgical management as primary treatment. Eight (57.1%) patients presented recurrence (disease-free survival (DFS) follow-up of 5.95 months). A total of five deaths were recorded, representing 35.7% of patients (overall survival (OS) follow-up of 23.5 months). Conclusion Breast sarcomas are characterized by aggressive clinical behavior, which is why it is important to make a precise histological diagnosis and thus provide patients with radical surgical procedures that ensure local control of the disease and improve DFS.

Clinical Behavior of Triple Negative Breast Cancer in a Cohort of Latin American Women.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is a worldwide public health problem. In Colombia, there are 13,000 new cases, having the highest incidence and mortality among cancers. This article describes the clinical behavior of patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) treated at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bogota, Colombia. METHODS: A historical cohort and analytical study that included elderly patients diagnosed with TNBC treated at the National Cancer Institute Functional Breast Cancer Unit (NCI-FBCU) was conducted. RESULTS: Of the 1,066 patients registered in the unit from September 1st 2013 to December 31st 2016: 146 (13.7 %) had triple negative tumors. The average age was 57.3 years; 61% of patients had locally advanced tumors. The majority of patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy as their first treatment (69.1%), and in 41.2% of the cases platinum was added to the chemotherapy regimen. The most common surgery conducted was modified radical mastectomy in 57.8% of cases. The pathological complete response (pCR) (Chevallier 1 and 2) was reached in 22.6% and, in this group of patients, a greater overall survival (OS) was found [hazard ratio (HR) 0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.63; p = 0.016]. Progression of the disease occurred in 36.5% of cases, being lungs the most frequent location (44.4%). The death incidence rate was 1.21 deaths per 100 patients/month. The median event-free survival (EFS) was 18.2 months. CONCLUSION: TNBC occurs in Latin American women at advanced clinical stages with aggressive clinical behavior, with lower OS rates, and higher risk of metastasis compared to other molecular subtypes.

Hyperprogression in Pediatric Melanoma Metastatic to the Breast Treated with a Checkpoint Inhibitor.

Metastatic melanomas in the pediatric population are rare, but they have been appearing more frequently. Unfortunately, little is known about the differences in the biology and therapeutic implications of pediatric metastatic melanomas when compared to those found in adults. Herein, we have presented the case of a 13-year-old girl with a stage IIID malignant melanoma arising from a congenital nevus. This patient underwent surgical management, and she received adjuvant interferon therapy; however, this treatment was incomplete due to a grade 3 transaminase elevation and the early recurrence of the disease. An isolated metastasis to the breast was documented, and a mastectomy was performed. Soon afterward, low-volume lung metastases developed, and she was treated with nivolumab. After two treatment cycles, the disease continued to develop in a hyperprogressive manner. Advances in the characterization and understanding of pediatric melanomas are needed, as well as experience in the management of new therapies in these cases, which would help clarify the extent to which we can extrapolate the data obtained from the adult population. Therapeutic interventions in melanoma cases are evolving rapidly, and the role of metastasectomies in the era of immunotherapy and BRAF and MEK-targeted therapies is largely unknown. Moreover, the identification of risk factors for the development of hyperprogression and its underlying mechanisms are also warranted.