External Validation of the Individualized Prediction of Breast Cancer Survival (IPBS) Model for Estimating Survival after Surgery for Patients with Breast Cancer in Northern Thailand.

The individualized prediction of breast cancer survival (IPBS) model was recently developed. Although the model showed acceptable performance during derivation, its external performance remained unknown. This study aimed to validate the IPBS model using the data of breast cancer patients in Northern Thailand. An external validation study was conducted based on female patients with breast cancer who underwent surgery at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai hospital from 2005 to 2015. Data on IPBS predictors were collected. The endpoints were 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The model performance was evaluated in terms of discrimination and calibration. Missing data were handled with multiple imputation. Of all 3581 eligible patients, 1868 were included. The 5-year OS and DFS were 85.2% and 81.9%. The IPBS model showed acceptable discrimination: C-statistics 0.706 to 0.728 for OS and 0.675 to 0.689 for DFS at 5 years. However, the IPBS model minimally overestimated both OS and DFS predictions. These overestimations were corrected after model recalibration. In this external validation study, the IPBS model exhibited good discriminative ability. Although it may provide minimal overestimation, recalibrating the model to the local context is a practical solution to improve the model calibration.

Breast Cancer Subtypes in Northern Thailand and Barriers to satisfactory survival outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of breast cancer (BC) in Thailand has been rising at an alarming rate. The annual incidence of BC in Thailand has doubled over a span of 15 years. A retrospective study was conducted with the primary objective of assessing and comparing survival rates of patients with BC, stratified by subtype of BC. METHODS: A retrospective study was implemented for a cohort of women receiving a diagnosis of invasive BC with the objective of assessing and comparing their overall survival, stratified by BC subtype. Thai women receiving a diagnosis of their first primary invasive BC between January 2006 and December 2015 at Chiang Mai University Hospital were studied with 3,150 cases meeting the eligible criteria. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 4.9 years (Inter Quartile Range: 2.8-7.7). The most common diagnosed subtype was luminal B-like (n = 1,147, 36.4%). It was still the most prevalent subtype (35.8%) in women younger than 40 years and the 40-60 age-group, The proportion of patients with TNBC is the highest in women aged less than 40 years with 19.3% compared to the other age categories. Finally, among women older than 60 years, the proportion of each subtype was relatively uniform. Most women received a diagnosis of stage II disease. Triple negative subtype increased overall mortality in advanced staging (stages III and IV) (aHR:1.42, 95% CI: 0.96-2.11). The 5-year overall survival rate was found in luminal A-like at 82.8%, luminal B-like at 77.6%, HER-2 enriched at 66.4% and triple negative subtype at 64.2%. CONCLUSION: The histologic subtype, correlated with age and staging influenced the OS. Our results confirmed the association of triple negative BC with poor prognosis especially in advanced stage. The adjuvant medical treatment in our country could not be accessible in some group of patients, so the results of treatment and survival especially HER-2 enriched are lower than other countries without treatment barrier.

Integration of breast cancer care in a middle-income country: learning from Suandok Breast Cancer Network (SBCN).

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer incidence in Northern Thailand has shown a continuous increase since records began in 1983. In 2002 the urgency of the situation prompted Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital to initiate the Suandok Breast Cancer Network (SBCN). METHODS: The SBCN is a not-for-profit organization in the university hospital which serves as a training and education center and provides highly specialized medical care for patients in Chiang Mai and in 5 provinces of northern Thailand, with the key mission of improving breast cancer care. The short-term goal was to overcome the barriers to engagement with breast cancer and its treatment and the long-term goal was to increase the overall survival rate of breast cancer patients in our region. RESULTS: We enrolled breast cancer patients treated at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital between January 2006 and December 2015 and divided into 2 cohorts: 1485 patients who were diagnosed from 2006 to 2009 (cohort 1: early implementation of SBCN) and 2383 patients who were diagnosed from 2010 to 2015 (cohort 2: full implementation of SBCN). Criteria to measure improved cancer waiting time (CWT) would include: time to diagnosis, time to surgery, and time to radiotherapy. The 5-year overall survival (OS) of the cohort 2 was higher than that in cohort 1, at 73.8 (72.0-75.5) compared to 71.5 (69.2-73.7) (p-value = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Reasons behind the success of project include the uniformity of care encouragement, service network development and timely access to each step of breast cancer management. The model used in SBCN could be adopted as a learning guide to improve healthcare access and outcome for breast cancer patients in low- to middle-income countries.

Phyllodes tumor of the breast: diagnosis, management and outcome during a 10-year experience.

BACKGROUND: Phyllodes tumor is a very rare tumor of the breast, incidence being 0.3-0.9% of all breast tumors. Phyllodes tumors are classified into three grades: benign, borderline or malignant. The aim of this study was to investigate patient characteristics, imaging characteristic findings, surgical treatment and outcome of phyllodes tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective review of phyllodes tumor patients who had undergone surgical management between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2015 in Head, Neck and Breast Unit, Department of Surgery, Chiang Mai University Hospital. RESULTS: A total of 188 phyllodes tumor patients were included in this study. The average age of the patients was 35.6 years. The majority of the tumors were of lobulated shape. Tumor morphology from imaging: lobulated shaped tumor 112 cases, oval-shape 37 cases, round shape 8 cases and irregular 5 cases. Surgical management is the standard procedure for treatment of phyllodes tumors. A wide local excision was performed in 147 cases, mastectomy in 20 cases (modified radical mastectomy in 2 cases) and wide excision followed by mastectomy 21 cases. The final pathological diagnoses of the phyllodes tumors were: benign 118 cases (62%), borderline 33 cases (18%) and malignant in 37 cases (20%). The margin did not affect recurrence in all types. CONCLUSION: The most frequent is a benign phyllodes tumor. Surgical treatment to remove the tumor with a free margin is acceptable with no recurrence difference from a wider margin. However, younger age and malignant phyllodes tumor are the two highest risk factors for recurrence.

Outcome of eribulin as a late treatment line for Thai metastatic breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: We report the safety and efficacy of eribulin as a late treatment line in Thai metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 30 MBC patients treated with eribulin between January 2014 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were scheduled to receive 1.4 mg/m2 of eribulin on day 1, day 8 and subsequently every 21 days. All patients had previously received at least three chemotherapy regimens including anthracycline and taxane. Response rate and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. RESULTS: The median age was 56 years (range, 40-74 years), with a median follow-up time of 5.7 months (range, 0.2-25 months). The overall response rate was 30% (nine patients): four patients had triple-negative breast cancer, three patients had luminal B breast cancer and two patients had luminal A breast cancer. The median PFS was 2.9 months (range, 0.2-14 months). The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens was 4 (range, 3-9). Univariate analysis showed that the number of regimens (four or fewer) prior to eribulin was statistically associated with superior PFS (P = 0.009). Multivariate analysis also showed similar statistical association between number of prior regimens (four or fewer) and better PFS adjusted by age group (≥50 years; hazard ratio = 1.29; 95% CI: 1.0-1.65; P = 0.046). There were no toxic deaths or grade 4 toxicities. Nine (30%) patients had grade 3 anemia toxicities, and the other common toxicities were leukopenia and neutropenia. Four (13%) patients required dose reduction and 16 (53%) patients required dose delay because of toxicities. CONCLUSION: Eribulin is an effective drug for heavily pretreated MBC patients with tolerable toxicities. The benefit was superior in patients who received fewer than four previous chemotherapy regimens.

Bilateral desmoid tumor of the breast: case seriesand literature review.

BACKGROUND: Desmoid tumor of the breast is very rare and locally aggressive but has no distant metastasis. Bilateral lesions are extremely rare, found in only 4% of patients. Two cases of bilateral desmoid tumor of the breast are reported. The clinical presentation, diagnosis, imaging, treatment, and follow-up outcomes of recurrence as well as a brief literature review are provided. CASE REPORTS: Case 1 is a 31-year-old woman who presented with nipple retraction. An ultrasound revealed BIRAD V in both breasts. She underwent a bilateral excisional biopsy under ultrasound mark with the pathology result of extra-abdominal desmoid tumor in both breasts. The patient had a bilateral mastectomy with silicone implantation due to the involved margins by excision. She remained tumor free after 7-year follow-up. Case 2 is a 28-year-old woman who presented with a lump on her right breast that she had discovered ~2 months earlier. An ultrasound showed a spiculated mass in the right breast and some circumscribed hypoechoic masses in both breasts. A bilateral breast excision was done. The pathology result was an extra-abdominal desmoid tumor. She had recurrence on both sides and underwent a mastectomy and silicone implantation. The tumor has not recurred after 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Imaging cannot distinguish between benign breast lesions and malignancy. Pathology results are helpful in making a definitive diagnosis. Given that the desmoid tumor is locally aggressive, a local excision with clear margins is recommended. Chemotherapy and hormonal treatment are controversial.

Factors affecting local recurrence and distant metastases of invasive breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery in Chiang Mai University Hospital.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to collect data regarding breast cancer profiles and factors that affect local recurrence and distant metastasis after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in Chiang Mai University Hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a retrospective review in a single institution of newly diagnosed invasive breast cancer patients who were treated with BCS between April 9, 2001 and December 25, 2011. RESULTS: A total of 185 patients treated with BCS were included in this study, with an average age of 46.83 years. The average recurrence age was 41.1 years and the average nonrecurrence age was 47.48 years, with a recurrence rate of 10.27%. Premenopause was significant in recurrence (P=0.047), as well as non-estrogen-expression patients (P=0.001) and patients who did not receive antihormonal treatment (P=0.011). CONCLUSION: The recurrence rate in our institute was 10.27%. Factors affecting recurrence after BCS included young age, premenopausal status, nonexpression of the estrogen receptor, and patients who had not received antihormonal treatment. The recurrence rate was higher in the first 90 postoperative months.

"Ruptured" malignant phyllodes tumor of the breast: a case report.

Phyllodes tumor or cystosarcoma phyllodes is a rare disease and is usually seen in middle-aged patients. Ruptured phyllodes tumor is a very rare condition. Our study reports patient presentation, diagnosis method, and treatment of an unusual case. A 58-year-old premenopausal female was diagnosed with a phyllodes tumor and presented with a rapidly growing mass for 2 months that ruptured 1 month later. She underwent simple mastectomy at the left side of her breast and received adjuvant radiotherapy. No recurrence was found 4 months after operation.

A young man with concurrent acute appendicitis and incarcerated right indirect inguinal hernia.

OBJECTIVE: Acute appendicitis and incarcerated hernia rarely present in the same episode. Our study reports patient presentation, diagnosis method, and treatment of an unusual case at the Chiang Mai University Hospital. METHOD: Case report. RESULT: A 20-year-old man visited the Chiang Mai University Hospital with right lower quadrant pain and a right groin mass which could not be reduced. The computerized tomography scan showed acute appendicitis and omentum in the hernia sac. Operative treatment was an appendectomy and herniorrhaphy. The treatment was successful, and the patient was discharged from our hospital without any complications. CONCLUSION: Concurrent acute appendicitis and incarcerated hernia are very rare, but should be kept in mind if a patient presents with right lower quadrant pain and a right groin mass. Further investigation may be helpful if the diagnosis is uncertain. Operative priority treatment depends on each individual case.

Effects of rapid response trauma team in thoracic injuries in northern trauma center level I.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Associated thoracic injury is the first priority at the initial assessment and its outcomes are time-dependent. Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University organized a rapid response trauma team (RRTT) at mid-year 2006. The aims of this present paper were to report the effects of RRTT regarding outcomes of thoracic injury. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We performed a retrospective review for admitted thoracic injury patients between January 2004 and September 2009. The interval prior to July 2006 was defined as "before RRTT" and the latter as "after RRTT". The severity-adjusted mortality was calculated. RESULTS: During the 69 months, 951 patients were included (427 in "before RRTT", 524 in "after RRTT"). Although the severity injury score (ISS) was significantly lower before RRTT the severe trauma patients (ISS > 15) had a significantly higher mortality (25.3% vs. 15.3%; p = 0.01). RRTTsignificantly improved the mortality odds ratio in the overall and severe trauma [0.39 (0.22-0.68); p < 0.01 and 0.43 (0.25-0.73); p < 0.01]. Subgroup analysis found to have positive effects with the RRTT in maxillofacial, head, and orthopedics associated injuries. CONCLUSION: RRTT for thoracic injuries in the tertiary level I trauma center could decrease the severity-adjusted mortality, especially in severe trauma patients.