Updated Clinical Evidence on the Role of Adipokines and Breast Cancer: A Review.

With the recent leaps in medicine, the landscape of our knowledge regarding adipose tissue has changed dramatically: it is now widely regarded as a fully functional endocrine organ. In addition, evidence from observational studies has linked the pathogenesis of diseases like breast cancer with adipose tissue and mainly with the adipokines that are secreted in its microenvironment, with the catalog continuously expanding. Examples include leptin, visfatin, resistin, osteopontin, and more. This review aims to encapsulate the current clinical evidence concerning major adipokines and their link with breast cancer oncogenesis. Overall, there have been numerous meta-analyses that contribute to the current clinical evidence, however more targeted larger-scale clinical studies are still expected to solidify their clinical utility in BC prognosis and reliability as follow-up markers.

Ectopic breast carcinoma.

Carcinoma of the accessory breast tissue (CABT) is an extremely rare occurrence, representing 0.3% of all breast malignancies. A 65-year-old, postmenopausal woman was referred to our Breast Clinic complaining of a palpable, growing, and painful mass in her right axilla. Physical examination revealed a palpable tender mass, approximately 3 cm in size, visibly infiltrating the overlying skin area, while physical examination of the breast revealed no palpable lesions. Core biopsy of the mass was promptly scheduled, and the histological report came back positive for Nottingham Grade II NST invasive carcinoma of the breast. The patient underwent breast-conserving surgery and concomitant axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for removal of the malignant mass. Care was taken to preserve the axillary vein and the long thoracic nerve. Closure of the axillary incision required mobilization of skin flaps to ensure optimal cosmetic results. Despite the ectopic breast tissue being a largely benign and infrequent occurrence, the breast surgeon must remain vigilant for the possibility of CABT development. At any rate, further epidemiological studies incorporating as many patients as possible are required in order to formulate recommendations on the management and prognosis of CABT. Until such guidelines exist, excision of the carcinoma, along with ALND performance, is a reasonable and justified approach to the surgical treatment of CABT.

A rare case of invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast.

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) is a rare, distinct histological subtype of breast carcinoma. While micropapillary histological architecture is found in up to 2-8% of all breast cancers, pure micropapillary carcinoma is infrequent and comprises 0.9-2% of breast carcinomas. Invasive micropapillary carcinoma is emerging as an oncological and surgical challenge due to a plethora of characteristics that constitute this histological pattern - interestingly, both elusive and aggressive. We present the case of a woman presenting with IMPC, who was primarily treated with tumour and lymph node marking, followed by primary systemic therapy (PST), and consequent oncoplastic surgery with sentinel lymph node biopsy. Our case report outlines the importance of awareness of histological subtypes in breast cancer by focusing on a case report of IMPC. The breast surgeon must be aware of the lymphotropic behaviour of this subtype and the high prevalence of lymph node involvement in such patients, and therefore focus on rigorous axillary assessment. One must not forget that, despite having a more aggressive biological profile, IMPC has demonstrated no difference in survival when compared to other histological subtypes, and treatment should conform to international guidelines with an emphasis on nodal staging.

Micropapillary Breast Carcinoma: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Prognosis.

Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast is an infrequent type of breast cancer often discussed for its potency for lymphovascular invasion and difficulty in accurate imaging estimation. Micropapillary carcinomas are noted to be present as larger tumors, of higher histological grade and a notably higher percentage of disease-positive lymph nodes. Hormonal and HER-2 positivity in IMPC is also commoner when compared to other NST carcinomas. IMPC occurs either as a pure form or more often as a component of mixed Non-Specific Type (NST) carcinoma. The latest data suggest that despite having comparable survival rates to other histological subtypes of breast carcinoma, effective surgical treatment often requires extended surgical margins and vigilant preoperative axillary staging due to an increased incidence of lymph node invasion, and locoregional recurrence. Moreover, the presence of micropapillary in situ components within tumors also seems to alter tumor aggression and influence the nodal disease stage. In this review, we present an overview of the current literature of micropapillary carcinoma of the breast from biology to prognosis, focusing on biological differences and treatment.

Study on intraoperative localization of sentinel lymph nodes using freehand SPECT in breast cancer patients.

Introduction: The diagnostic and therapeutic approach to axillary lymph nodes is considered indispensable in the treatment of breast cancer patients. Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of 3D freehand SPECT (fhSPECT) in sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping in breast cancer, compared with the use of a conventional gamma probe. Material and methods: We retrospectively compared the fhSPECT lymph node mapping modality, with gamma probe detection in early-stage, clinically node-negative breast cancer patients, with biopsy-confirmed malignancy. The two techniques were compared based on the average number of LNs excised per axilla. The duration of SLN mapping was also compared between the two groups. The performance of the two methods on obese and post-systemic therapy patients was evaluated. FhSPECT was used in 150 cases, while the gamma probe was employed in 50 cases. Results: FhSPECT detected at least 3 nodes in 83.3% of the patients vs. 72.0% with the γ-probe (p = 0.107). The mean number of SLNs excised per axilla was 3.66 using the γ-probe and 4.18 with fhSPECT (p = 0.03). The average surgical time was 39 ±7 min with the γ-probe and 37.54 ±17 min with fhSPECT (p = 0.228). Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) mean surgical time evolved from 40.2 ±20.77 min to 32.35 ±10.46 min (p = 0.033). In obese patients, a reduction in surgical times was noted from 45.5 ±3.09 min to 44.04 ±20.9 (p = 0.27), in addition to a significant increase in average LN detection in the fhSPECT group (4.26 ±1.44) compared to the γ-probe group (3.2 ±1.65) (p = 0.043). Conclusions: The use of the fhSPECT modality is effective and safe, and, when compared to the γ-probe, has significant advantages in SLN mapping.

Correction to: Letter to the Editor: comment on 'Breast-conserving surgery with intraoperative radiotherapy in recurrent breast cancer: the patient's perspective' by Elfgen et al.

In the original publication of the article, surnames and given names of the authors were interchanged.

Management of gastrointestinal leaks after surgery for clinically severe obesity.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal leaks after bariatric surgery are the primary cause of serious morbidity and mortality nationwide. Enteric leaks can differ in severity, presentation, and management, depending on the type of bariatric surgery performed. Our objective was to describe the clinical presentation and treatment outcomes in patients who developed postoperative leaks at a university hospital bariatric referral center. METHODS: A retrospective observational study using descriptive statistics was conducted on data from 1499 bariatric operations performed at our institution from 1994 to 2010. The procedures included a variant of biliopancreatic diversion with long limb reconstruction (BPD-LL) in 820 patients (791 open and 29 laparoscopic), Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in 301 patients (105 open and 196 laparoscopic), and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) in 208 patients (5 open and 203 laparoscopic). RESULTS: Of these patients, 30 (2%) developed a postoperative leak at a median of 18 days (range 2-32) postoperatively. The primary procedure was laparoscopic SG in 12 patients (5.8%), laparoscopic RYGB in 5 patients (1.6%), and BPD-LL (12 open and 1 laparoscopic) in 13 patients (1.6%). In all patients who underwent laparoscopic SG, the leak site was along the staple line. The gastrojejunal anastomosis was leaking in 4 (80%) and 12 (92.3%) patients in the RYGB and BPD-LL group, respectively. The enteroenteral anastomosis was leaking in 1 patient each in the RYGB and BPD-LL groups (20% and 7.7%, respectively). Three patients (10%; 2 from the BPD-LL group and 1 from the RYGB group) presented with generalized peritonitis and underwent emergency re-exploration; nonoperative treatment was successful in the remaining 27 patients (90%). Stent placement for persistent gastrocutaneous fistula was used in 9 patients (30%; 8 from the SG cohort and 1 from the BPD-LL group). The overall mortality rate was 3.3%. CONCLUSION: In our experience, most leaks resulting from antiobesity surgery were successfully managed using nonoperative methods. Rapid management of gastrointestinal leaks using computed tomography-guided drainage and/or intraluminal stent placement could be the treatment of choice in selected patients.

Glucose levels and insulin secretion in surgery-induced hyperglycemia in normoglycemic obese patients.

BACKGROUND: Transient hyperglycemia is commonly observed in non-diabetic subjects during surgery. We undertook this study to investigate (1) insulin secretion pattern and glucose levels during elective surgery, and (2) the role of pre-operative fasting in the development of surgery-induced hyperglycemia. METHODS: We examined 21 severely obese normal glucose tolerant patients, who underwent bariatric surgery. From the 21 operated subjects, 14 remained fasted while seven patients received 75 g glucose the preoperative night. They sampled at baseline and from the onset of operation frequently for 9 h thereafter, for measuring serum insulin and glucose. RESULTS: Hyperglycemia developed within 1 h from the onset of operation and lasted 9 h. The administration of 75 g glucose the preoperative night prevented surgery-induced hyperglycemia. Insulin profile analyzed by deconvolution analysis was similar between fasted patients and those who received 75 g glucose. Serum insulin was suppressed at the beginning of the surgery and reached baseline values 4 h thereafter. CONCLUSION: Hyperglycemia occurred within 1 h from the beginning of surgery and sustained for at least 9 h while insulin levels are suppressed or unaltered compared to baseline values in euglycemia. The administration of 75 g glucose the preoperative night prevents surgery-induced hyperglycemia without altering the profile of insulin secretion.