VRAM flap for locally advanced breast cancer

The authors presented a case of a patient with locally advanced breast cancer, with mammary and axillary localization, initially considered non-resectable, with good response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Due to the location of the lesion and the need for extensive resection, radical mastectomy was performed, associated with reconstruction with myocutaneous flap of the vertical rectus abdominis muscle. Different therapeutic options, the reasons that determine this choice, and local long-term control were discussed.

Clinic, pathologic and molecular landscapes in ultra-young women with breast cancer in the State of São Paulo: a real-world study

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) centers are increasingly attending "ultra-young" women (UYW) patients (≤ 30 years), who usually present aggressive tumors and face specific problems. Objectives: We aimed to examine a multicentric casuistic view, addressing clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of BC, as well as therapeutic measures and oncological outcomes. Methods: A retrospective multicentric observational study of UYW with infiltrating BC was carried out. The patients were treated between the period from January 1991 to December 2019. Clinical, epidemiological, morphological, molecular, therapeutic and outcomes data were collected from the charts. Results: A total of 293 patients were followed for a average period of 34.5 months. Nulliparity was referred by 204 women (75.5%), of whom 81 (37.1%) were overweight or obese. Positive family history in first-degree relatives was verified in 25 patients (10.1%). Only 30 patients underwent genetic tests, which revealed inherited pathogenic mutations in 12 of them (37.5%). Thirty-two (32) cases were classified as T1 at diagnosis (10.9%), while "De novo" stage IV was found in 29 patients (9.8%). Mastectomy was performed in 175 women (70.2%), quadrantectomy in 46 women (18.4%), and mammary adenectomies in 28 women (11.2%), of which 149 cases were reported after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (56.0%). A total of 111 patients had at least one positive lymph node (47.4%). The rate of patients with estrogen receptor-negative was 32.7% and the rate of patients with Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-positive (HER2-positive) was 25%. The frequency of Luminal A neoplasias was 16.6%, Luminal B/HER2- was 35.9%, Luminal B/HER2+ was 15.1%, HER2 overexpressed was 9.3%, and Basal was 22.9%. Taking into account the outcomes, 173 patients were alive without disease (65.7%); 23 patients were alive with any form of recurrence (8.7%); and 67 patients (25.4%) evolved to BC deaths. Conclusions: It was concluded that UYW with BC are commonly diagnosed at advanced stages, present adverse morphological and molecular parameters, and have unfavorable prognosis.

Breast-conserving treatment in oncoplastic times: indications, cosmesis, and quality of life

Breast-conserving treatment was established as an oncologically safe procedure for breast cancer. However, the cosmetic outcomes of breast-conserving treatments are often unsatisfactory. In this scenario, oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery incorporated plastic surgery concepts and techniques into the oncological treatment in order to ensure better cosmesis, thus increasing the indications for breast-conserving treatment. At the same time, oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery is usually presented as a generic term, which should be evaluated taking many aspects into account: indication, patient selection, the surgery itself, cosmetic quality, and quality of life ­ data that are still scarce in the literature.

Forequarter amputation in a patient with locally advanced recurrent breast carcinoma

Forequarter amputation (FQA) involves the removal of the upper limb, clavicle, and scapula and is indicated for the resection of primary or metastatic tumors invading the axillary neurovascular bundle. Reports on breast cancer have associated FQA with the primary resection of a locally advanced tumor, resection of recurrent disease, brachial plexus injury, Stewart-Treves syndrome, or sarcoma secondary to breast cancer irradiation. We described a case of recurrent breast carcinoma with curative-intent surgery. The surgery aimed at locoregional control and improvement in the quality of life. The literature is scarce on the topic, discussing the multiple aspects related to the indication of FQA for breast cancer patients. This report presents the first case described in Latin American literature.

ATYPICAL STERNAL PAIN IN A BREAST CANCER PATIENT MIMICKING ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION / Dor esternal atípica no câncer de mama mimetizando infarto agudo do miocárdio

Radiation therapy on the left side of the chest, some chemotherapy drugs, and trastuzumab raise the risk of cardiac events. Acute chest pain associated with breast cancer is not common, but it is possible. Electrocardiogram, which can result normal in up to 80% of cases of infarction, and serial dosing of myocardial necrosis markers are fundamental for differential diagnosis. Total creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB fraction (CK-MB), and troponins are frequently used. We present the case of a patient with atypical chest pain associated with elevation of CK and CK-MB, whose evolution and complementary exams showed to be a thoracic tumor recurrence. We discuss the use of these markers for acute chest pain; possible differential diagnoses, the use of CKMB relative index and, particularly, the presence of macro CK in some breast cancer patients ­ which in the case herein presented was a marker of tumor progression.

A radioterapia do lado esquerdo do tórax, alguns quimioterápicos e o trastuzumabe elevam o risco de eventos cardíacos. A dor torácica aguda associada ao câncer de mama não é um evento frequente, mas é possível. No diagnóstico diferencial, faz-se necessário o eletrocardiograma, que pode ser normal em até 80% dos infartos, e a dosagem seriada de marcadores de necrose miocárdica, sendo frequentemente utilizados a creatinoquinase (CK) total, a creatinnoquinase fração MB (CK-MB) e as troponinas. Apresentamos o caso de uma paciente com dor torácica atípica associada à elevação sérica da CK e da CK-MB, sendo que a evolução e os exames complementares mostraram tratar-se de uma recorrência tumoral torácica. Discutem-se a utilização desses marcadores na dor torácica aguda, os diagnósticos diferenciais possíveis, a utilização do índice relativo CK-MB e, em especial, as macro CK presentes em algumas portadoras de câncer de mama, o que, nessa paciente, foi um marcador de progressão tumoral.