Better predictive value of axillary lymph node (ALN) status after systemic therapy for operable HER2-overexpressing breast cancer: A single-institution retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Thresholds for using Preoperative Systemic Therapy (PreST) have decreased to include early breast cancer. This study investigates the predictive value of axillary lymph node (ALN) status before and after systemic therapy and discusses whether it is better to receive PreST first in operable HER2-overexpressing breast cancer patients. METHODS: From January 2008 to June 2013 at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, we identified 406 eligible female patients with stage II-IIIa, operable and pathologically confirmed HER2-overexpressing invasive ductal carcinoma. Of these patients, 269 underwent surgery first followed by chemotherapy plus trastuzumab (chemo-trastuzumab) (SurgFirst group), whereas 137 received systemic chemo-trastuzumab therapy first followed by surgery (STFirst group). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated according to different ALN statuses using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate COX model analyses were also conducted. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 47 months (IQR: 37-60). Both ALN status and overall pathological complete remission (pCR) status were shown to be significant for the prediction of DFS (p = 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively) and OS (p = 0.009 and p = 0.027, respectively) in the STFirst group. However, patients with positive ALN(s) did not experience significantly poorer survival compared with those with negative ALN in the SurgFirst group. The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for positive ALN status in the STFirst and SurgFirst groups were 6.66 (p = 0.001, 95%CI: 2.18-20.38) and 2.40 (p = 0.126, 95%CI: 0.78-7.34), respectively. CONCLUSION: The ALN status after systemic chemo-trastuzumab therapy better predicts the survival outcome. We recommend the application of PreST followed by surgery in patients with operable HER2-overexpressing breast cancer.

Treatment of esophageal achalasia (cardiospasm) with diaphragmatic graft. Twenty-five years' experience.

Long-term results are presented in 60 patients (4 to 50 years old) who underwent a diaphragmatic graft procedure for relief of cardiospasm (achalasia) from 1962 through 1987. The operative technique involves construction of a pedicle flap of diaphragm. The muscular defect on the lower segment of the esophagus and the transplanted diaphragmatic pedicle that is sutured to the defect must be the same size. Immediate operative results were good. Only one complication developed, a case of pneumonia that was cured. The patients were followed up from 11 months to 25 years. Two patients were lost to follow-up, 55 had excellent results, and three patients still had nausea and heartburn but were better than before the operation. This procedure has three advantages: (1) It prevents the development of fistulas and diverticula at the site of the esophageal muscular defect; (2) it effectively eliminates both restenosis resulting from scar tissue and reflux esophagitis; and (3) it allows the cardia to recover its normal function and the esophagus to return to normal size at the site of the operation.

Treatment outcomes and unfavorable prognostic factors in patients with occult breast cancer.

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors in patients with occult breast cancer (OBC). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 95 patients with OBC who were treated at our facility between January 1998 and June 2010. Of the 95 patients, 64 underwent mastectomy plus axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with or without post-mastectomy radiation (Mast + ALND group), 13 underwent ALND followed by ipsilateral breast radiotherapy (BR + ALND group) and the remaining 18 were treated with ALND (ALND group). RESULTS: Patients who underwent Mast + ALND or BR + ALND had significantly improved rates of locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS) and recurrence/metastasis-free survival (RFS) than patients who only underwent ALND (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the LRFS (p = 0.718), RFS (p = 0.935) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) (p = 0.991) rates between the patients who underwent Mast + ALND compared with those who received BR + ALND. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients with four or more involved lymph nodes had significantly worse outcomes (p = 0.042, HR = 4.63, 95% CI = 1.66-32.47 for BCSS and p = 0.038, HR = 3.62, 95% CI = 1.08-20.77 for RFS). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with OBC who received ALND and subsequent breast radiotherapy had similar outcomes to patients who underwent mastectomy. The presence of four or more involved lymph nodes may independently predict poor outcomes of OBC.