Occult breast cancer: a case report and current management of treatment.

Occult breast cancer is a very rare type of cancer which presents with axillary lymphadenopathy with no visible mass in the breast. Advances in imaging methods (MRI, PET/CT, PET/MRI, etc.) have enabled the detection of a large number of lesions which are not visible using basic imaging methods, such as mammography and ultrasound. To date, optimal management of this type of cancer is lacking. Generally, treatment of occult breast cancer is that of primary breast cancer with axillary lymph node involvement. This includes neoadjuvant oncological therapy, axillary dissection with adjuvant radiation therapy and either mastectomy or radiation to the breast. However, several recent studies have shown that similar results may be achieved with less radical treatment. The paper describes the case of a 62-year-old patient with occult breast cancer, the procedure and results of imaging assessments, and subsequently the treatment management. Furthermore, the paper reports on current treatment trends published in the literature.

Role of the radiologist during neoadjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is one of the possible oncological treatment strategies for breast cancer. Its aim is to achieve down-staging of the tumour in the breast and axilla and thus the possibility of converting mastectomy to a breast-conserving procedure, and also to allow for a less burdensome and more targeted operation of the axillary lymph nodes. The role of the radiologist is to utilise imaging procedures for precise local staging of the malignancy prior to NT, to evaluate the effect of treatment during its course and upon its completion, and to perform restaging of the cancer in the breast and axilla. CASE REPORTS: The authors present three case reports of female patients with breast cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT). They describe the diagnostic procedure and imaging methods used to establish local staging of the cancer prior to treatment, to monitor the disease during the course of treatment, and to perform restaging of the cancer after completing NCT. The radiological response after NCT completion was correlated with the pathological response. CONCLUSION: Correct determination of the extent of the cancer in the breast and axilla by the radiologist before NT and precise histological analysis of the tumour by the pathologist are fundamental for selecting the appropriate treatment for patients at the multidisciplinary breast tumour board.

[Breast cancer at the 1st Surgical Department, University Hospital Olomouc assessing the number and age of patients and benefit of breast screening]. / Karcinom prsu na I. chirurgické klinice FN Olomouc - zhodnocení poctu a veku pacientek a prínosu mamárního screeningu.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. It affects mostly women between the ages of 60 and 70; however, in the past years, the number of younger female patients has been increasing. The incidence of breast cancer has been rising worldwide, especially in the United States and Western Europe. Breast carcinoma mortality, on the other hand, has shown a slight decrease due to early screening programmes and advanced treatment methods. METHODS: We included patients who had undergone surgery for breast carcinoma in the 1st Department of Surgery at Teaching Hospital in Olomouc between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012. In each patient, her age at the time of diagnosis/surgery was calculated. All patients were divided into 10-year age groups. At the same time, a sub-group of breast cancer patients younger than 45 years was created. We compared the numbers of patients in the respective groups and sub-groups in every year. The mean age and the median of age were also calculated. To evaluate the benefit of mammary screening, we compared the staging of operated tumours in the different years studied. The results were statistically processed and evaluated. RESULTS: The total number of 980 patients underwent surgery for breast carcinoma at our department between 2008 and 2012 with age ranging from 20 to 88 years. 101 of them were younger than 45 years. The mean age of the patients was 59 years, the median was 60 years. The total number of patients increased from 153 in 2008 to 240 in 2012. There was no significant increase in the number of patients younger than 45 years. There were more patients diagnosed with stage II carcinoma and fewer patients with stage III carcinoma in 2012 than in 2010. CONCLUSION: The analysis of our group of patients confirmed the increasing tendencies of breast cancer incidence in total. We did not prove a statistically significant increase in the number of patients in pre-screening age (i.e., younger than 45 years). More frequent diagnosis of early-stage disease was detected, especially during the last three evaluated years.Key words: breast cancer - age - stage screening.

Gender differences in tumor necrosis factor alpha and leptin secretion from subcutaneous and visceral fat tissue.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and leptin concentrations were determined in the abdominal subcutaneous and visceral (omental) adipose tissue of patients undergoing elective open-abdominal surgery and compared with their body mass index. The concentration of leptin did not differ significantly between women and men, being high in subcutaneous fat tissue and low in visceral fat tissue. TNFalpha concentration in subcutaneous fat tissue was approximately the same in both genders, but it was significantly lower in visceral fat tissue of women and unchanged in visceral fat tissue of men. A significant correlation between BMI and leptin was found in the two fat tissue compartments of both genders, but the correlation between BMI and TNFalpha was found only in subcutaneous fat tissue of women.