The effectiveness of the Gail model in estimating risk for development of breast cancer in women under 40 years of age.

Epidemiologic studies have provided information on risk factors for breast cancer. Gail and associates identified five risk factors using the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP) population and developed a model to calculate a composite relative risk (RR). This model is commonly used to counsel women regarding their risk for breast cancer and was used by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project (NSABP) for eligibility for the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial. Because the BCDDP population was composed almost entirely of women 40 years of age or older, our purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Gail model in estimating the risk of breast cancer for women under 40 in the clinical setting. The Gail risk factors were assessed for 124 patients under the age of 40 treated for either ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive breast cancer at the Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center between 1983 and 1995. The RR was calculated using the Gail model. For comparison, two cohorts of women under the age of 40 were used: 107 randomly selected patients who underwent a breast biopsy because of a benign condition and 129 nurses from our institution who responded to a questionnaire that included reproductive and family history information as used in the Gail model. The RR calculated was the RR that existed at the time of the surgical consultation for a suspicious breast lesion. The Tarone-Ware method was used to analyze statistical significance of differences between distribution. Contingency tables were analyzed using Miettinen's modification of Fisher's exact test. No differences were found between the median RR for all groups. Only 2 of the 124 patients with breast cancer had a RR of 5 or more (the RR required to enter the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial). The distribution of age at menarche (AGEMEN) was the same for each group. No difference was found for the distribution of age at first live birth (AGEFLB) between those with breast cancer and those with a benign biopsy or the control group. The number of breast biopsies (NBIOPS) was higher in patients with a benign breast biopsy. No difference was found in the distribution of number of first-degree relatives with breast cancer (NUMREL). Overall the Gail model failed to differentiate those women about to have cancer diagnosed from two control populations. The Gail model is not useful in identifying immediate risk of breast cancer in women under 40 and should not be used for that purpose.

Lymph node negative invasive breast carcinoma 1 centimeter or less in size (T1a,bNOMO): clinicopathologic features and outcome.

BACKGROUND: Patients with lymph node negative invasive breast carcinomas < or = 1 cm in size have a low recurrence rate and may be spared adjuvant therapy. Reliable prognostic features will help physicians design appropriate treatment for these patients. METHODS: The clinicopathologic features, prognostic marker profiles, and clinical outcomes of 88 T1a,bN0M0 carcinomas in 87 patients who presented between 1975 and 1990 were studied. The size of each tumor was determined by direct measurement of histologic sections. The median follow-up was 7.8 years (range, 4-15 years). The characteristics of tumors diagnosed between 1975 and 1983 and between 1984 and 1990 were also compared. RESULTS: Before 1984, the majority of patients presented with palpable mass lesions, whereas from 1984 on, more patients presented with mammographic abnormalities. However, no significant differences in the pathologic features of tumors were observed between the two periods. There were only 3 locoregional recurrences (3%) and 4 distant recurrences (5%). Palpable tumors had worse prognoses than mammographically detected lesions (P = 0.02). Histologic grade, lymphatic invasion, hormone receptors, Ki-67 antigen, and bcl-2 expression were significant univariate prognostic indicators. The small number of patients in the series precluded multivariate analysis. None of the 43 patients (49%) with tumors < or = 0.5 cm, or of histologic and nuclear Grade 1, or of favorable histologic types developed recurrences; and their outcomes were significantly better than those of other patients (P = 0.013). Tumors originally classified as T1b, but which exceeded 1 cm on review and were excluded from the study, had a significantly higher distant recurrence rate (23%) than bona fide T1a,b carcinomas (P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: T1a,bN0M0 carcinomas have a low recurrence rate, especially those tumors < or = 0.5 cm, or of low histologic or nuclear grade, or of favorable histologic type. The high recurrence among patients with tumors initially understaged as T1a,b carcinoma underscores the importance of accurately determining tumor size.

Breast cancer in the nineties.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and is the second (after lung cancer) leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Knowledge of breast cancer and its epidemlology, natural course, and response to treatment continue to evolve, making the survival rates for patients with breast cancer more optimistic. Women with breast cancer must decide, in partnership with expert physicians and nurses, what their options are for screening, diagnosis, and treatment. This article provides an overview of options available to women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Ductal carcinoma in situ of the male breast.

BACKGROUND: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the male breast is an uncommon disease, accounting for approximately 7% of all male breast carcinomas. Compared with invasive carcinomas of the breast, the prognosis associated with DCIS in men is excellent; however, clinical features, pathology, and treatment of this disease are not well defined in the literature. METHODS: Records of 23 men with carcinoma of the breast treated at the Lahey Clinic from 1968 to 1991 were reviewed, revealing 4 patients with pure DCIS (17%). The reported management of DCIS in women is discussed in comparison with that of DCIS in men. RESULTS: Of the four patients with DCIS, the presenting complaint was a retroareolar mass in three patients and a bloody nipple discharge in one patient. The pathologic subtype was papillary in one patient and intracystic papillary in three patients. Two patients were treated with partial mastectomy alone. Disease recurred locally as DCIS in both patients, requiring mastectomy at 30 and 108 months. No lymph node metastases were found in the three patients who underwent axillary dissection. All four patients were alive without disease at 133, 120, 36, and 32 months of follow-up, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although the sample size was small, our patients and a review of the literature suggest that most DCIS in men is of the papillary type and that mastectomy without axillary dissection is the preferred treatment.