Association between the platelet to lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and axillary lymph node metastasis in cT1N0 breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and axillary lymph node metastasis in cT1N0 breast cancer patients. METHODS: The clinicopathological data of 154 patients with cT1N0 breast cancer from January 2015 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. The differences of PLR and NLR levels among groups with different clinicopathological factors (age, tumor size, ER, PR, HER-2, Ki67, p53 expression levels, vascular tumor thrombus and SLN metastasis) were compared. The relationship between clinicopathological factors and metastasis of SLN and non-SLN was analyzed. RESULTS: There were 32 patients with SLN metastasis. The cut-off values of PLR and NLR for the whole group were 142.91 and 2.84. The PLR level was higher in patients with vascular tumor thrombus and SLN metastasis (P<0.05), and the NLR level was higher in patients with P53 negative and SLN metastasis groups (P<0.05). According to univariate analysis, there were significant differences in SLN metastasis among different tumor sizes, vascular tumor thrombus states, PLR and NLR levels (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in SLN metastasis among patients with different ages, ER, PR, HER-2, Ki67, p53 expression groups (P>0.05). According to multivariate analysis, the risk of SLN metastasis in patients with vascular tumor thrombus was higher than that in patients without vascular tumor thrombus (P<0.05). The risk of SLN metastasis in patients with high level of PLR was higher than that in patients with low level of PLR (P<0.05). The difference was not significant in SLN metastasis status among patients with different ages and ER, PR, HER-2, Ki67, p53 expression and NLR level (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: High level of PLR and vascular tumor thrombus are the risk factors for SLN metastasis.

Accessory breast cancer occurring concurrently with bilateral primary invasive breast carcinomas: a report of two cases and literature review.

The development of accessory breast tissue, which is found anywhere along the milk line, is attributed to the failure of milk line remnants to regress during embryogenesis. Primary tumors may arise from any ectopic breast tissue. Accessory breast cancer occurring concurrently with primary invasive breast cancer is extremely rare. Two such cases were reported in this article. One was a 43-year-old Chinese female who exhibited bilateral breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified, IDC-NOS) and an accessory breast carcinoma (IDC-NOS) incidentally identified in her left axilla. The ectopic breast tissue in her right axilla presented with adenosis. The patient was surgically treated, followed by postoperative docetaxel epirubicin (TE) chemotherapy. The second case was a 53-year-old Chinese female with bilateral breast cancer (apocrine carcinoma) accompanied by an accessory breast carcinoma (IDC-NOS) in her right axilla that was also incidentally identified. The patient was surgically treated after three doses of cyclophosphamide epirubicin docetaxel (CET) neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy of the same regimen.

[PSCA expression in invasive micropapillary carcinoma of breast].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression of prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) at protein and mRNA levels in invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast (IMPC) and to analyze the relationship between PSCA expression and clinicopathologic features. METHODS: The expression of PSCA protein was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (LSAB) in 66 cases of IMPC and 67 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma, not otherwise specified (IDC-NOS). The association between PSCA expression and clinicopathologic features was also analyzed in IMPC. Furthermore, RT-PCR was used to detect PSCA mRNA in 10 cases of primary IMPC and 10 cases of primary IDC-NOS with paired normal breast tissues, each from the same subject. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the overexpression of PSCA in 47 of 66 (71.2%) cases of IMPC and 35 of 67 (52.2%) IDC-NOS. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference of PSCA expression between IMPC and IDC-NOS (P = 0.024). In IMPC, the expression of PSCA was correlated with lymph nodes metastasis (P = 0.039). RT-PCR showed the mRNA level of PSCA was significantly higher in primary IMPC and IDC-NOS tissue than that in paired normal breast tissue (7/10 and 5/10, respectively), and it was also significantly higher in primary IMPC tissue than that in IDC-NOS tissue. CONCLUSION: PSCA might play an important role in lymph node metastasis in IMPC.