Value of the intraoperative cytology examination of sentinel lymph node in breast cancer / Valor do exame citológico intraoperatório do linfonodo sentinela no câncer de mama

Objective: Evaluate the value of imprint cytology in the intraoperative analysis of sentinel lymph node (SLN) in patients with breast cancer. Methods: An agreement study for the evaluation of the imprint cytology technique as a diagnostic test for intraoperative SLN among patients diagnosed with breast cancer from January 2007 to January 2017. Results: We studied 210 cases of breast cancer patients submitted to intraoperative sentinel node imprint cytology, aged between 24 and 86 years (mean age 59 years and median age 60 years). The sensitivity of the intraoperative study was 58.3% (95%CI 46.1­69.8%) and the specificity was 97.8% (95%CI 93.8­99.5). The positive predictive value (PPV) was 93.3% (95%CI 81.7­98.6) and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 81.8% (95%CI 75.1­87.4). From the analyzed variables, the presence of macrometastasis was the only one that significantly increased the sensitivity of the imprint to 73.2% (95%CI 59.7­84.2), while micrometastasis presented a sensitivity of only 6.3% (95%CI 0.2­30.2). Conclusion: The use of imprint cytology in the intraoperative SLN study showed good accuracy in predicting axillary status. However, the surgeon and pathologist are fully aware of the set of clinical and histological variables that can influence the sensitivity of the method.

Objetivo: Avaliar o valor do imprint citológico na análise intraoperatória do linfonodo sentinela (LS) em pacientes com câncer de mama. Métodos: Estudo de concordância para avaliação da técnica do imprint citológico como teste diagnóstico do LS no intraoperatório, entre pacientes com diagnóstico de câncer de mama, no período de janeiro de 2007 a janeiro de 2017. Resultados: Foram estudados 210 casos de pacientes com câncer de mama submetidas à citologia de impressão (IC) do linfonodo sentinela no intraoperatório, com idade entre 24 e 86 anos (média de 59 anos e mediana de 60 anos). A sensibilidade do estudo intraoperatório foi de 58,3% (IC95% 46,1­69,8) e a especificidade de 97,8% (IC95% 93,8­99,5). O valor preditivo positivo (VPP) foi de 93,3% (IC95% 81,7­98,6) e o valor preditivo negativo (VPN) de 81,8% (IC95% 75,1­87,4%). Das variáveis analisadas, a presença de macrometástase foi a única que aumentou significativamente a sensibilidade do imprint para 73,2% (IC95%, 59,7­84,2%), enquanto na micrometástase apresentou sensibilidade de apenas 6,3% (IC95% 0,2­30,2). Conclusão: A utilização do imprint citológico no estudo intraoperatório do LS apresentou boa acurácia na previsão do status axilar. Entretanto, é importante o pleno conhecimento, pelo cirurgião e patologista, do conjunto de variáveis clínicas e histológicas que podem influenciar a sensibilidade do método

Hypoxia and serum deprivation induces glycan alterations in triple negative breast cancer cells.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a major global public health problem. The lack of targeted therapy and the elevated mortality evidence the need for better knowledge of the tumor biology. Hypoxia and aberrant glycosylation are associated with advanced stages of malignancy, tumor progression and treatment resistance. Importantly, serum deprivation regulates the invasive phenotype and favors TNBC cell survival. However, in TNBC, the role of hypoxia and serum deprivation in the regulation of glycosylation remains largely unknown. The effects of hypoxia and serum deprivation on the expression of glycosyltransferases and glycan profile were evaluated in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. We showed that the overexpression of HIF-1α was accompanied by acquisition of epithelial-mesenchimal transition features. Significant upregulation of fucosyl- and sialyltransferases involved in the synthesis of tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens was observed together with changes in fucosylation and sialylation detected by Aleuria aurantia lectin and Sambucus nigra agglutinin lectin blots. Bioinformatic analysis further indicated a mechanism by which HIF-1α can regulate ST3GAL6 expression and the relationship within the intrinsic characteristics of TNBC tumors. In conclusion, our results showed the involvement of hypoxia and serum deprivation in glycosylation profile regulation of TNBC cells triggering breast cancer aggressive features and suggesting glycosylation as a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target.