Evaluation of appropriate short-term mammographic surveillance in patients who undergo breast-conserving Surgery (BCS).

BACKGROUND: Mammography is an important surveillance tool for detecting ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) after BCS. Although IBTR is rare in the first 2 years, various organizations have established protocols for postoperative mammographic surveillance. Currently there is no consensus on the optimal interval for imaging evaluation of patients following BCS. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of patients who underwent BCS at Aultman Hospital between 1/06 and 12/08. To be included in the study, patients had to be diagnosed with invasive primary breast carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), treated with BCS (with or without postoperative breast radiation), and have had at least one postoperative surveillance mammogram at our Breast Care Center. Our mammographic surveillance protocol for patients undergoing BCS consists of ipsilateral mammograms (affected side) around 6 and 18 months and bilateral mammograms around 12 and 24 months. All mammograms that were Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) 0 or 4 were reviewed by a single radiologist (T.B.P.). RESULTS: A total of 375 patients constituted the core group for this study. Each interval mammographic screening (6- and 18-month mammograms) resulted in additional imaging in 3-4 % of patients. There was a very low yield for identifying IBTR: 1/266 (0.4 %) for the 5-10-month postoperative mammogram and 1/286 (0.3 %) for the 16-21-month postoperative mammogram. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our data and the low expected yield of IBTR in the first 2 years, annual mammographic surveillance appears adequate following BCS and interval ipsilateral mammograms at 6 and 18 months do not provide additional clinical benefit.

Pathologic Complete Response of HER-2 Neu-Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and Ductal Carcinoma In Situ following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy plus Trastuzumab: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Pathologic complete response (pCR) after NC has been consistently associated with improved outcomes. Residual DCIS after NC does not portray worse prognosis compared to complete eradication of all disease but has clinical implications regarding surgical management. We report a case of pCR of DCIS associated with invasive carcinoma in an HER-2 + tumor after NC plus trastuzumab despite persistence of malignant-appearing microcalcifications mammographically. A 41-year-old Caucasian female presented with a 4 × 4 cm mass in the right breast and a 2.5 cm right axillary node. Mammogram showed a 2.5 cm mass and a 12 cm area of linear pleomorphic, suspicious calcifications in the upper part of the breast. Core biopsy revealed invasive ductal carcinoma and DCIS associated with calcifications (ER 85%, PR 6%, Her2neu 3+ by IHC). Axillary node FNA was positive for malignancy. The patient received doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) → paclitaxel plus T with complete clinical and radiologic response but no significant change in the microcalcifications. Final pathology showed no residual invasive carcinoma or DCIS despite the presence of numerous ducts with microcalcifications. Documented eradication of DCIS has not been reported following NC when malignant-appearing calcifications persist and this observation may have important clinical implications regarding surgical management.