Clinical Factors Affecting the Therapeutic Efficacy of Evening Primrose Oil on Mastalgia.

BACKGROUND: Saturated fatty acid esters may cause mastalgia via hypersensitivity of breast epithelium to circulating hormones. Evening primrose oil (EPO) may restore the saturated/unsaturated fatty acid balance and decrease sensitivity to steroidal hormones or prolactin. Conflicting results exist regarding EPO treatment for mastalgia. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of EPO and factors affecting its efficacy in treatment of mastalgia. METHODS: The study included 1015 patients, ages 14-82 (mean age 42.21 ± 10.8), admitted to Acibadem Breast Clinic between January 2015 and March 2018. The patients were divided into group I (n = 581) treated with EPO (1300 mg, twice a day) and group II (n = 434) treated with paracetamol (500 mg, twice a day). The visual analog scale was used to assess EPO's therapeutic efficacy, compared with paracetamol, measured at admittance, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks. Clinical factors affecting the efficacy of EPO were analyzed. RESULTS: The therapeutic efficacy of EPO on mastalgia was significantly higher than with paracetamol (p < 0.001). Factors significantly affecting the efficacy of EPO treatment were hormone replacement therapy (HRT), IUD-with-levonorgestrel, iron deficiency, overt hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto thyroiditis (p < 0.01). Replacement of iron or thyroid hormone efficiently treated mastalgia in patients that did not respond to EPO treatment. Side effects (allergy, anxiety, blurred vision, constipation, and nausea) were rare and not statistically significant (p = 0.88). CONCLUSION: EPO can be used in the treatment of mastalgia without significant side effects. HRT, IUD-with-levonorgestrel, iron deficiency, overt hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto thyroiditis significantly affect the efficacy of EPO on mastalgia.

Oncologic safety of nipple-sparing mastectomy in patients with short tumor-nipple distance.

BACKGROUND: There is a tendency to avoid nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) when a tumor-nipple distance (TND) is <2 cm due to the risk of occult nipple involvement. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the patients who undergo NSM with immediate reconstruction are oncologically safe when TND is <2 cm. METHODS: Patients who underwent NSM followed by immediate reconstruction for breast cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who are negative for nipple-base in either frozen-section or paraffin histopathology were included. MRI was used to obtain TNDs to compare local-recurrence-free and disease-free survival in group I (TND <2 cm) and group II (TND ≥2 cm). Disease-free survival rates were determined to assess the outcome. RESULTS: Of the 214 cases with malignancy on MRI, 21 cases diagnosed with pure ductal carcinoma in situ were excluded. Among the 193 NSM cases diagnosed with invasive cancer, TND was <2.0 cm in 59 (30.56%) cases and ≥2.0 cm in 134 (69.43%) cases. No significant differences were found between groups in regards to ER, PR, HER2-neu status, and nodal involvement (P = 0.34, P = 0.41, P = 0.54, and P = 0.12 respectively). In a median follow-up time of 62 months (range; 13-114), patients in group I had four local recurrences, whereas group II was found to have five local and three distant metastases. No significant differences were observed between groups concerning disease-free survival (10-year DFS 93.2% vs 96.3%; P = 0.368 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who have invasive cancer diagnosis with a TND <2 cm are eligible to undergo therapeutic NSM with immediate reconstruction.

Is human papillomavirus associated with breast cancer or papilloma presenting with pathologic nipple discharge?

PURPOSE: There are little data on the presence or interaction of human papillomavirus (HPV) in intraductal papilloma or Breast cancer (BC) presenting with pathologic nipple discharge (PND). The study aimed to determine whether the HPV-genotypes are identifiable in papilloma or carcinoma of the breast by real-time PCR with broad-spectrum genotyping. METHODS: Formalin-fixed-paraffin-blocks obtained from the patients who were suffering from PND and underwent ductoscopic papilloma extraction (n = 27) or segmental/total mastectomy for cancer diagnosis (n = 18). HPV-DNAs were identified by PCR with broad-spectrum genotyping. Mc Nemar test was used to compare cancer-involved cases to normal-adjacent tissue concerning HPV positivity. Chi-Square test was used to analyze the association for receptor status in HPV positive cancer-involved cases. RESULTS: The mean age (±SD) was 49 ± 16 in papilloma and 52 ± 14 in BC patients, respectively. We found high prevalence of HPV in papilloma and carcinoma: 29.6% (n = 8) and 44.4% (n = 8), respectively. The most common type identified in breast lesions was HPV-11, and the others were HPV- 6, -11, -39, and -82. Cancer-involved samples were more contaminated by HPV in comparison to normal-adjacent tissues (p = 0.016). In HPV positive cancer-involved cases, hormone receptors were found to be more positive than HER2-Neu (p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that HPV might be a causative agent for the development of papilloma and carcinoma of the breast in some cases presenting with PND. HPV positive breast cancers are more likely to be hormone positive. Further studies needed for validation regarding the integration of HPV-DNAs into the human genome that causes BC.

Exploring breast with therapeutic ductoscopy.

Breast lesions are thought to arise mostly from the epithelium of ductal lining. Conventional imaging could only show indirect images of suspected lesions which are confirmed by percutaneous biopsies. However, ductoscopy provides direct images of the ductal epithelium which is the source of most malignant and papillary lesions. As an advance of current ductoscopy systems, pathologic nipple discharge (PND) could be treated ductoscopically by miniaturized endo-baskets or wires. Our goal is to discuss current intraductal technology which enables diagnostic and therapeutic advance for breast lesions that cause nipple discharge.

Interventional ductoscopy for pathological nipple discharge.

BACKGROUND: Despite the low likelihood of malignancy, it is recommended that patients who have pathologic nipple discharge (PND) undergo duct excision. Intraductal papilloma is well-known most frequent cause of PND. Our goal is to determine whether the ductoscopic retrieval of a solitary papilloma is feasible and/or therapeutic for patients with PND. The accompanying video demonstrates this interventional ductoscopic approach. METHODS: Consented patients who had been diagnosed with PND were recruited to have ductoscopic exploration. Patients with palpable masses and suspicion of malignancy on ultrasound or mammography were excluded. Under local anesthesia, ductoscopy was performed using LaDuScope-T flex with an outer diameter of 1.1 mm, which allows extraction of a single papilloma with a microbasket (380 µm) via a working channel. Patients with sessile single papilloma or failure on ductoscopic extraction underwent ductoscopically guided microductectomy. Success was determined by recurrence of PND and by standard radiological examinations. RESULTS: Three patients presented in the video had negative cytology and normal conventional diagnostic imaging. Two patients diagnosed with a nonsessile single papilloma underwent successful ductoscopic extraction. The interventional examination times of those patients were 30 and 35 min. Patient who had a sessile papilloma underwent ductoscopically guided microductectomy. These patients had no recurrence of discharge or suspicious of malignancy after 5 years follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Interventional ductoscopy provides an incisionless therapeutic option for patients diagnosed with a papillary nonsessile benign lesion that causes PND.

Optimizing surgical margins in breast conservation.

Adequate surgical margins in breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer have traditionally been viewed as a predictor of local recurrence rates. There is still no consensus on what constitutes an adequate surgical margin, however it is clear that there is a trade-off between widely clear margins and acceptable cosmesis. Preoperative approaches to plan extent of resection with appropriate margins (in the setting of surgery first as well as after neoadjuvant chemotherapy,) include mammography, US, and MRI. Improvements have been made in preoperative lesion localization strategies for surgery, as well as intraoperative specimen assessment, in order to ensure complete removal of imaging findings and facilitate margin clearance. Intraoperative strategies to accurately assess tumor and cavity margins include cavity shave techniques, as well as novel technologies for margin probes. Ablative techniques, including radiofrequency ablation as well as intraoperative radiation, may be used to extend tumor-free margins without resecting additional tissue. Oncoplastic techniques allow for wider resections while maintaining cosmesis and have acceptable local recurrence rates, however often involve surgery on the contralateral breast. As systemic therapy for breast cancer continues to improve, it is unclear what the importance of surgical margins on local control rates will be in the future.

Systemic inflammatory response after Kugel versus laparoscopic groin hernia repair: a prospective randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Kugel repair, a minimally invasive technique, has become an alternative to laparoscopic groin hernia repair, but the technique has not been adequately evaluated by assessment of objective parameters. A prospective randomized clinical study was carried out to compare the systemic inflammatory response to surgical trauma and clinical outcomes in patients who underwent groin hernia repair by the Kugel and totally extraperitoneal (TEP) laparoscopic methods. METHODS: Forty consecutive patients admitted for unilateral groin hernia were randomized to Kugel (n = 20) or TEP (n = 20) repair under general anesthesia. Operation time, length of hospital stay, pain severity, time to return to normal activities, cost, and systemic inflammatory and hormone responses to surgical trauma were compared. RESULTS: There were no significant between-group differences in duration of operation, length of hospital stay, time to return to normal activities, or mean visual analogue scale (VAS) score (p > 0.05 for each). Serum cortisol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations before surgery, and 1 and 24 h after surgery, did not differ significantly in the two groups (p > 0.05). There were no recurrences or complications during follow-up. Cost per patient was US $546 lower in the Kugel group. CONCLUSION: Kugel herniorrhaphy is a minimally invasive technique that offers all the advantages of TEP and is more cost-effective.

Scarless endoscopic papillomectomy of the breast.

BACKGROUND: Efforts have been made to improve minimally invasive breast surgery techniques, resulting in less tissue damage and much better cosmetic results. We evaluated the therapeutic value of a new scarless operation, endoscopic papillomectomy (EP), in patients with pathologic nipple discharge (PND). METHODS: Breast ductoscopy was performed on 126 women with PND. These patients underwent a variety of appropriate ductoscopy-assisted (DA) endosurgical interventions, combined with cytologic examinations. Success was determined by recurrence of PND and by standard radiological examinations. RESULTS: Ductoscopy was successfully performed in 102 patients. Of these 102 patients, 26 had solitary papillomas (SP), 5 had multiple papillomas (MP), 11 had intraductal debris, and 1 had a ductal epithelial surface abnormality with positive cytology. Of the 26 polypoid lesions (cytology negative), 22 were excised endoscopically (endoscopic papillomectomy). Patients with MP underwent DA-microdochectomy. Except in one patient, all discharges disappeared. After a mean +/- SD follow-up time of 11.5 +/- 5.8 months (range 2-22 months), there were no recurrences of nipple discharge and no radiological results suggestive of malignancy. Thus, the therapeutic efficacy of EP in our study was 95.4% (21/22). CONCLUSIONS: Ductoscopy is not only a diagnostic procedure, but is also therapeutic for breast papillomas. EP is a new scarless treatment option for patients with PND.