PAGET'S DISEASE IN A MALE PATIENT: CASE REPORT / Doença de Paget do mamilo em paciente masculino: relato de caso

Paget's disease is a rare entity that accounts for 1 to 3% of breast tumors. Occurrence in male patients is even less common. Literature has reported only 24 cases in the last 20 years. We described the case of a 62-year-old male patient that sought medical care due to erosion and eczema on left nipple. After skin biopsy, the clinical suspicion of Paget's disease was confirmed by histological and immunohistochemical studies, which enabled the proper surgical and oncological treatment

A Doença de Paget do mamilo é uma entidade rara, representando 1 a 3% dos carcinomas de mama. Sua presença em pacientes masculinos é ainda menos comum, com apenas 24 casos na literatura nos últimos 20 anos. Em nosso relato de caso, descrevemos um paciente masculino de 62 anos que procurou atendimento por erosão e eczema no mamilo esquerdo. Após biópsia de pele, a histologia e o estudo imuno-histoquímico confirmaram a suspeita clínica de Doença de Paget do mamilo, possibilitando o tratamento cirúrgico-oncológico adequado.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in breast: case report / Linfoma não Hodgkin da mama: relato de caso

e primary breast lymphoma is a rare tumor, accounting for up to 0.5% of breast cancers. Most primary breast lymphoma is presented as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the B-cells lymphoma is the most common, and Burkitt lymphoma is the most aggressive. We report the case of a 24-year-old female patient, with global, progressive and rapid increase of the right breast during 30 days with reaction to insect bite and progressive weight loss, fatigue, fever and nocturne sweating. An echo-guided core biopsy was held with injury and showed an atypical lymphoid proliferation, suggestive of high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry confirmed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, B immunophenotype, Burkitt type. Also, the diagnosis of HIV infec- tion was performed during hospitalization. Patient started with multidrug chemotherapy scheme and antiretroviral therapy. Burkitt lymphoma is an exceptionally aggressive subtype and can a ect the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, and treatment consists of chemothe- rapy with multiple agents as soon as possible. Radiotherapy has no function in the Burkitt type cases, even in case of only local disease.

O linfoma primário de mama é um tumor raro que corresponde a cerca de 0,5% de todos os cânceres de mama. A maioria dos linfomas primários de mama apresenta-se como linfoma não Hodgkin, sendo o mais comum o de células B e o mais agressivo o linfoma de Burkitt. Relatamos o caso de uma paciente feminina, 24 anos, com aumento global, progressivo e rápido da mama direita observado num período de 30 dias, acompanhado de progressiva perda de peso, fadiga, febre e sudorese noturna. Foi realizada biópsia guiada por agulhamento, que identi cou proliferação linfoide atípica, sugestiva de linfoma não Hodgkin de alto grau. A avaliação imuno-histoquímica con rmou o diagnóstico de linfoma não Hodgkin, imunofenótipo B, do tipo Burkitt. O diagnóstico de infecção pelo HIV também foi feito durante a hospitalização. Foi iniciado tratamento com esquema quimioterápico de múltiplas drogas e terapia antirretroviral. O linfoma de Burkitt é um subtipo bastante agressivo e pode afetar o sistema nervoso central e o trato gastrointestinal, e o tratamento consiste em quimioterapia com múltiplos agentes, devendo ser iniciado o mais brevemente possível. A radioterapia não tem papel no tratamento do linfoma de Burkitt, mesmo nos casos de doença localizada.

Uma nova plataforma terapêutica para o câncer de mama: a evoluçãodo tratamento sistêmico neoadjuvante / A new therapeutic platform for treating breast cancer: the evolution of systemic neoadjuvant treatment

O tratamento neoadjuvante do câncer de mama consiste no uso de diferentes modalidades terapêuticas prévias à remoção cirúrgica da doença. Tem sido aceito como uma opção para pacientes com doença não metastática, porque pode converter tumores inoperáveis em operáveis e aumentar os índices de cirurgias conservadoras, com os mesmos resultados oncológicos em longo prazo do tratamento adjuvante. A estratégia neoadjuvante está sendo cada vez mais aceita como uma plataforma de pesquisa, em que os efeitos biológicos dos agentes antitumorais podem ser avaliados, os biomarcadores preditivos e os prognósticos podem ser identificados e o desenvolvimento de terapias-alvo pode ser acelerado. Desfechos alternativos que podem predizer resultado clínico em longo prazo e estão disponíveis precocemente, como a resposta patológica completa, oferecem oportunidades únicas para a imediata avaliação dos agentes antitumorais. Além disso, esforços para determinar o perfil molecular da doença residual pós-tratamento neoadjuvante podem levar a uma terapia personalizada do câncer de mama em pacientes com doença de alto risco em estágio inicial.

Neoadjuvant therapy of breast cancer is related to the use of different treatment modalities prior to surgical removal of the disease. It has been accepted as an option for patients with nonmetastatic disease, because it renders inoperable tumors operable and increases the rates of breast-conserving surgery, while achieving the same long-term clinical outcomes as the adjuvant setting. The neoadjuvant strategy is being increasingly accepted as a research platform, where the biologic effects of anticancer agents can be evaluated, prognostic and predictive biomarkers can be identified, and the development of targeted agents can be accelerated. Surrogate endpoints that can predict long-term clinical outcome and are evaluable early on, such as the pathologic complete response, offer unique opportunities for prompt assessment of anticancer agents. Moreover, efforts for molecular profiling of the post-neoadjuvant residual disease may lead to a personalized therapy for breast cancer patients with early-stage high-risk disease.

Axillary web syndrome self-assessment questionnaire: Initial development and validation.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the great strides made in medical knowledge, surgery still remains a necessary part of the breast cancer treatment. Surgical procedures still lead to post surgical sequelae. The axillary web syndrome (AWS) is one such sequela, which can lead to disability, reduced arm mobility and compromised quality of life. It is often unidentified and the literature regarding its assessment is limited. To improve diagnosis and patient education, the Screening Test AWS (ST-AWS) questionnaire was drafted and applied at the European Institute of Oncology (EIO). MATERIALS AND METHOD: We prospectively recruited patients from October 2012 to December 2012. Patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy and/or axillary dissection procedures were registered. Physical examination was set as a gold standard. RESULTS: 88 patients completed the questionnaire. Among these, 32 patients had axillary web syndrome diagnosed, thus a 36% incidence. The questionnaire achieved a sensitivity of 94%, a specificity of 91%, a positive prevalence value (PPV) of 86%, a negative prevalence value (NPV) of 96% and an accuracy of 92%. CONCLUSION: Our questionnaire achieves high sensitivity and predictive values, and we would recommend it as a screening-tool for auto-diagnosis of the AWS. The main objective of the questionnaire is to enhance patient and therapist awareness of the problem, and prompt management to shorten the effects of this disability. Moreover, it may offer a tool to enhance body image acceptance after surgery. Further studies whereby the efficacy of the questionnaire is investigated in a larger, heterogeneous group and in different situations are warranted.

Incidence, predictive factors, and prognosis for winged scapula in breast cancer patients after axillary dissection.

PURPOSE: Axillary lymph node dissection is part of breast cancer surgery, and winged scapula is a possible sequela. Data regarding its incidence, predictive factors, and patient prognosis remains inconsistent. Ignorance of its diagnosis may lead to undertreatment with physical morbidity. METHODS: Breast cancer patients with axillary lymph node dissection were prospectively recruited. Postoperative examinations by the physiotherapy staff were performed. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-seven patients were recruited during July-October 2012; 51 patients had a positive diagnosis (27.2 %), with 38 patients (86 %) who recovered completely from the winged scapula, while 6 patients (13 %) still had winged scapula at 6 months after surgery. One hundred thirty patients underwent mastectomy and 100 cases had immediate reconstruction. Age, BMI, previous shoulder joint morbidity, and breast surgery were not associated with winged scapula. Neoadjuvant treatment, mastectomy or conservative surgery, immediate reconstruction, tumor size, and nodal involvement also did not show any correlation. Breast reconstruction with prosthesis, even with serratus muscle dissection, does not increase the incidence of winged scapula. CONCLUSION: Winged scapula is not an uncommon incidence after breast cancer surgery. Physiotherapy is related to the complete recovery. The severity or grading of the winged scapula and the recovery time after physiotherapy should be investigated in the future studies.

Immediate breast reconstruction with expander in pregnant breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Breast reconstruction after mastectomy is currently considered an essential component in managing breast cancer patients, particularly those diagnosed at a young age. However, no studies have been published on the feasibility of immediate breast reconstruction in patients diagnosed and operated during the course of gestation. METHOD: We retrospectively identified all breast cancer patients who were subjected to mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction during pregnancy at the European Institute of Oncology between 2002 and 2012. Patient demographics, gestational age at surgery, tumor stage, adjuvant treatment, details of the surgical procedures, surgical outcomes and fetal outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients with breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy were subjected to a surgical procedure during the course of gestation. Twenty-two patients had mastectomy; of whom 13 were subjected to immediate breast reconstruction. Twelve out of 13 patients had a two-stage procedure with tissue expander insertion. Median gestational age at surgery was 16 weeks. No major surgical complications were encountered. Only one patient elected to have an abortion, otherwise, no spontaneous abortions or pregnancy complications were reported. Median gestational age at delivery was 35 weeks (range: 32-40 weeks). No major congenital malformations were reported. At a median follow-up of 32 months, all patients are alive with no long-term surgical complications. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of immediate breast reconstruction in pregnant breast cancer patients. Tissue expander insertion appears to ensure a short operative time, and does not seem to be associated with considerable morbidity to the patient or the fetus. Hence, it could be considered in the multidisciplinary management of women diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy.

Do clinicopathological features of the cancer patient relate with nipple areolar complex necrosis in nipple-sparing mastectomy?

BACKGROUND: The selections of nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) are principally depending on oncologic indication and oncologic safety. The main complication of NSM is nipple areolar complex (NAC) necrosis, and it is usually related to surgical technique. However, the patients' clinicopathological factors should be also considered. METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed 934 consecutive NSM patients during 2002-2007 at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy. We identified a group of patient who had NAC excision because of NAC necrosis and compared this group with those who had successful NAC conservation. We analyzed the association between the risk of NAC necrosis and the clinicopathological features of the patients. RESULTS: Among 934 NSM, 772 were invasive cancers and 162 were in situ cancers. Of the 934, 40 NAC (4.2%) were removed during the postoperative period because of necrosis. When we considered age, BMI, menopausal status, smoking status, tumor size, axillary lymph node status, in situ or invasive cancer histology, presence of extensive situ component, grading, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2/neu overexpression, Ki-67 proliferative index, and peritumoral vascular invasion, no association was observed between patients' clinicopathological features and NAC necrosis incidence. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, clinicopathological features have no significant impact on necrosis complication in therapeutic NSMs. Positive retroareolar margin is the risk of necrosis. Further studies are required to avoid bias due to the different cancer treatments such as different reconstruction techniques and intraoperative radiation protocols. The correlation between breast morphology and NAC necrosis should also be investigated in the future.

Recidiva locorregional: importância da margem cirúrgica livre e dos subtipos moleculares do câncer de mama / Locoregional recurrence: the importance of free surgical margins and molecular subtypes of breast cancer

Índices de sobrevida equivalentes observados entre a cirurgia conservadora de mama e a mastectomia tornaram a primeira o tratamento padrão para muitas mulheres com câncer de mama, sendo preferível à mastectomia pelo benefício estético da preservação da mama. A cirurgia conservadora complementada pela radioterapia apresenta altos níveis de controle local da doença. O tamanho da margem tumoral adequado é assunto de interesse em razão da tendência de menor radicalidade cirúrgica, com manutenção de segurança oncológica. É importante, também, em relação à mastectomia, devido à possibilidade de preservação da pele e do complexo aréolo-mandibular, o que pode significar menos margens livres. Diversos estudos sugerem que uma excisão adequada, com margens livres de tumor, é necessária para obter um controle local ótimo. Entretanto, o próprio conceito do que seja margem livre é controverso, além de ser altamente questionável se o aumento do tamanho dessa margem resulta na diminuição do risco de recidiva local. Ressecções mais amplas são associadas a menor recorrência local, mas os dados disponíveis sugerem que o aumento de milímetros da margem livre não resulta em uma diminuição proporcional no risco de recidiva. Atualmente, considera-se adequado o tratamento cirúrgico que obtenha margem cirúrgica negativa, independentemente de seu tamanho. Diversos fatores patológicos, clínicos e de diferentes tratamentos também têm sido associados a um aumento do risco de recorrência local, entre eles a dose de radioterapia, definição do que é margem positiva e negativa, a extensão do envolvimento da margem, a presença de componente intraductal extenso, o tempo de acompanhamento dos pacientes, a influência do tratamento sistêmico adjuvante e, com grande interesse atualmente, os subtipos moleculares genéticos do câncer de mama - luminal A, luminal B, Her-2 positivo e triplo-negativo. A identificação de fatores de risco para recorrência local entre pacientes com margens negativas é....

The effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on hormone receptor status, HER2/neu and prolactin in breast cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Histological and immunohistochemical findings may vary in cases of breast cancer. Possible changes in tumor markers between biopsies performed before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are controversial and pose a challenge when a clinical decision is needed. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to compare the immunohistochemical expression of estrogen, progesterone and prolactin receptors and HER-2/neu in breast cancer before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy; and (ii) to correlate the expression of these tumor markers with partial tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Immunohistochemical staining for breast tumor markers was performed in 90 cases of breast cancer. Statistical analysis was carried out using Fisher's exact test, McNemar's test, Spearman's correlation and the Kappa index with linear weighting (k). RESULTS: Agreement between markers before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was fair to moderate (k = 0.37-0.51). The immunohistochemical expression of HER-2/neu and prolactin receptors showed a significant, albeit weak correlation before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (HER-2/neu, rho = 0.34; P = 0.0009; k = 0.35 [95% CI, 0.19-0.51]). Prolactin status changed in 28/90 cases (P = 0.001; McNemar's test), whereas no changes were found in estrogen or progesterone receptors. No association was found between tumor marker expression and tumor response. CONCLUSIONS: It seems prudent to reevaluate immunohistochemical markers such as HER-2/neu after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, since the findings will guide the strategy for implementation of adjuvant systemic treatment. No correlation was found between the tumor markers analyzed in the present study and partial tumor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvância sistêmica / Systemic neoadjuvance

A neoadjuvância sistêmica é a aplicação de terapia antineoplásica como primeiro tratamento em pacientes sem evidência de metástases e com intenção plena de controle da doença. É tambem chamada de primária, pré-operatória, perioperatória, basal ou de indução. Cada vez mais pacientes estão sendo tratados com quimioterapia (QT), hormonioterapia (HT) e imunoterapia (IT) antes do tratamento cirúrgico e em estágios mais precoces da doença. A chamada Estratégia de Tratamento Multidisciplinar consiste no tratamento sistêmico primário ou adjuvante associada ao tratamento locorregional, através da cirurgia e radioterapia (RT). O tratamento do câncer de mama, em especial o localmente avançado, é baseado nesse planejamento, e a QT com antracíclicos e taxanos ocupa o papel central. Entretanto, a utilização de dados histológicos e marcadores imuno-histoquimicos relacionados a biologia molecular e a expressão genética tumoral conduzem a individualização do tratamento, que consiste na obtenção do máximo de informações disponíveis sobre o tumor para oferecer o tratamento mais adequado para cada paciente. Em relação à IT, ou terapia alvo, muitos ensaios clínicos tem mostrado bons índices de resposta em pacientes HER 2 positivo com esquemas quimioterapicos contendo Trastuzumab. Outras drogas anti-HER 2 também tem sido testadas. A HT neoadjuvante como tratamento único pode ser uma opção adequada em pós-menopáusicas com receptores hormonais (RH) positivo, e os inibidores da aromatase (IA) são a opção de escolha. As principais vantagens do tratamento sistêmico primario consistem na melhora das condições cirúrgicas, uma melhor avaliação do potencial de resposta tumoral a terapia sistêmica e uma possivel melhora da sobrevida.

Systemic neoadjuvant therapy is the first line treatment in patients without evidence of metastasis and with a good control of the disease. It is also named as primary, preoperative, perioperative, basal or induction. Chemotherapy (CT), hormone therapy (HT) and immunotherapy (IT) have been increasingly used before the surgical treatment and in early stages of the disease. The so-called Multidisciplinary Treatment Strategy consists in a primary or adjuvant systemic treatment associated to locoregional treatment through surgery and radiotherapy (RT). Breast cancer treatment, specially the locally advanced, is mainly based on this planning, and CT with anthracyclics and taxanes has the central role. Nevertheless, histologic data and tumor markers, related to molecular biology and tumor genetic expression, have been used to individualize the treatment for breast cancer, by obtaining the maximum available information about the tumor in order to offer the proper treatment for each patient. There are many clinical trials with IT, or target therapy, demonstrating good response rates in patients HER 2positive who used chemotherapy with Trastuzumab. Other anti-HER 2 drugs have been tested. The neoadjuvant HT as single agent can be used as an option in post-menopausal women with positive hormone receptor, and aromatase inhibitors are the drug of choice. The main advantages of primary systemic treatment are better surgical conditions, better evaluation of the potential of the tumor to respond to systemic therapy and, consequently, a better survival rate.

Are the pure in situ breast ductal carcinomas and those associated with invasive carcinoma the same?

It has been reported that pure ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast has morphologic differences from the in situ component of the invasive ductal carcinoma, as well estrogen and progesterone receptors expression according to their cytokeratin expression. However, there is no data comparing other tumor markers without using the cytokeratin expression. The objective of this study is to compare the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), HER-2/neu, p53, and Ki67 between pure ductal in situ carcinoma (pDCIS) and the in situ component of the invasive ductal carcinoma (DCIS + IDC) of the breast, and the in situ component to the invasive component of the same tumor (DCIS + IDC). The immunohistochemistry expression of the tumor markers was performed in 45 cases of pDCIS and DCIS + IDC, yielding a total of 90 cases. Statistical analysis was carried out using Fisher exact test, having a P < 0.05, and Kappa index (kappa) to assess intratumoral concordance. In DCIS + IDC, the in situ and invasive components did not show a significant difference and Kappa index (kappa) was high (0.7-1) for positive and negative expression. ER and PR were significantly different between the pDCIS and DCIS + IDC (ER: 86.7 vs. 66.7% P = 0.04; PR: 80% vs. 55.6% P = 0.02). These findings suggest that in situ component of DCIS + IDC and pDCIS are distinct conditions.