• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2014

Background: Whether sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) should be performed in patients with pure ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast has been a question of debate over the last decade. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with microinvasive disease and determine the criteria for performing SLNB in patients with DCIS. Materials and Methods: 125 patients with DCIS who underwent surgery between January 2000 and December 2008 were reviewed to identify factors associated with DCIS and DCIS with microinvasion (DCISM). Results: 88 patients (70.4%) had pure DCIS and 37 (29.6%) had DCISM. Among 33 DCIS patients who underwent SLNB, one patient (3.3%) was found to have isolated tumor cells in her biopsy, whereas 1 of 14 (37.8%) patients with DCISM had micrometastasis (7.1%). Similarly, of 16 patients (18.2%) with pure DCIS and axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) without SLNB, none had lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, of 20 patients with DCISM and ALND, only one (5%) had metastasis. In multivariate analysis, the presence of comedo necrosis [relative risk (RR)=4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.6-10.6, P=0.004], and hormone receptor (ER or PR) negativity (RR=4.0, 95%CI=1.5-11, P=0.007), were found to be significantly associated with microinvasion. Conclusions: Our findings suggest patients presenting with a preoperative diagnosis of DCIS associated with comedo necrosis or hormone receptor negativity are more likely to have a microinvasive component in definitive pathology following surgery, and should be considered for SLNB procedure along with patients who will undergo mastectomy due to DCIS.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.246-253
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• 2021

In order to provide a physiological solution for patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL), the surgeon must understand where and how the pathology of lymphedema occurred. Based on each patient's pathology, the treatment plan should be carefully decided and individualized. At the authors' institution, the treatment plan is made individually based on each patient's symptoms and relative factors. Most early-stage patients first undergo decongestive therapy and then, depending on the efficacy of the treatment, a surgical approach is suggested. If the patient is indicated for surgery, all the points of lymphatic flow obstruction are carefully examined. Thus a BCRL patient can be considered for lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA), a lymph node flap, scar resection, or a combination thereof. LVA targets ectatic superficial collecting lymphatics, which are located within the deep fat layer, and preoperative mapping using ultrasonography is critical. If there is contracture on the axilla, axillary scar removal is indicated to relieve the vein pressure and allow better drainage. Furthermore, removing the scars and reconstructing the fat layer will allow a better chance for the lymphatics to regenerate. After complete removal of scar tissue, a regional fat flap or a superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flap with lymph node transfer is performed. By deciding the surgical planning for BCRL based on each patient's pathophysiology, optimal outcomes can be achieved. Depending on each patient's pathophysiology, LVA, scar removal, vascularized lymph node transfer with a sufficient adipocutaneous flap, and simultaneous breast reconstruction should be planned.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2657-2662
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• 2013

Background: Intraoperative sentinel lymph node biopsy has now become the standard of care for patients with clinically node negative breast cancer for diagnosis and also in order to determine the need for immediate axillary clearance. Several large scale studies confirmed the diagnostic reliability of this method. However, micrometastases are frequently missed on frozen sections. Recent studies showed that both disease free interval and overall survival are significantly affected by the presence of micrometastatic disease. The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of intraoperative frozen section analysis of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) for the detection of breast cancer micrometastasis and to evaluate the status of non-sentinel lymph nodes (non-SLNs) in those patients subjected to further axillary sampling. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 154 patients who underwent SLN biopsy from January 2008 till October 2011. The SLNs were sectioned at 2 mm intervals and submitted entirely for frozen sections. Three levels of each section submitted are examined and the results were compared with further levels on paraffin sections. Results: Overall 40% of patients (62/154) were found to be SLN positive on final (paraffin section) histology, out of which 44 demonstrated macrometastases (>2mm) and 18 micrometastases (<2mm). The overall sensitivity and specificity of frozen section analysis of SLN for the detection of macrometastasis was found to be 100% while those for micrometastasis were 33.3% and 100%, respectively. Moreover 20% of patients who had micrometastases in SLN had positive non-SLNs on final histology. Conclusions: Frozen section analysis of SLNs lacks sufficient accuracy to rule out micrometastasis by current protocols. Therefore these need to be revised in order to pick up micrometastasis which appears to have clinical significance. We suggest that this can be achieved by examining more step sections of blocks.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.45
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• pp.291.1-291.3
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• 2018

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1665-1667
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• 2013

Background: Ten to 30% of early breast cancer (EBC) patients develop brain metastasis (BM) during their follow-up. In this study, we aimed to evaluate importance of the lymph node ratio (LNR) in development of BM in EBC cases. Materials and Methods: Ninety patients whom had axillary metastases in lymph nodes at their initial diagnosis and developed BM during 5-year follow-up were detected in 950 EBC patients. LNR values were calculated for all patients and after categorization into 4 molecular sub-types as luminal A, luminal B HER-2 (+), HER-2 overexpressing and basal- like. Comparison was with control group patients who had similar characteristics. Results: In the comparison of all molecular sub-types of LNR, 54.9% and 28.4% values were found in patients with and without BM respectively (p<0.001). In the comparison of the LNR with control groups, a statistically significant differences were found with luminal A with BM (p=0.001), luminal B HER-2 (p=0.001), HER-2 overexpressing (p=0.027) and basal-like groups (p<0.001). In the evaluation of patients with BM, the highest ratio was found in the basal-like group (67.9%) and there was a statistically significant difference between this group and the others (p=0.048). Conclusions: EBC patients developing BM within 5 years follow-up had significantly higher LNRs for all molecular sub-types, especially in the basal-like group. Larger scale studies are now needed for evaluating LNR prognostic importance for EBC regarding BM development.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.451-455
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• 2008

Purpose: Lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel node biopsy has become a standard method for detection of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients, but the standard radiopharmaceutical was not prepared. About detection of axillary lymph node metastasis by lymphoscintigraphy and sentinel node biopsy in breast cancer patient, we compared the results of Tc-99m Tin-colloid and Tc-99m Phytate by subareolar injection. Materials and Methods: This study included 382 breast cancer patients who were performed operation during 2001-2008. Three hundred forty nine patients was injected 0.8ml of Tc-99m Tin-colloid (37-185 MBq) by subareolar injection. Thirty three patients was injected 0.8ml of Tc-99m Phytate (37-185 MBq). Lymphoscintigraphy was performed in supine position and sentinel node localization was performed by hand-held gamma probe in operation. Result: Among 349 patients by Tc-99m Tin-colloid, 312 cases (89.4%) localized the sentinel node by lymphoscintigraphy, 304 cases (87.1%) localized by gamma probe. Among 33 patients by Tc-99m Phytate, 32 cases (97.0%) localized by lymphoscintigraphy, 33 cases (100%) localized by gamma probe. Detection rate by lymphoscintigraphy and gamma probe was superior for Tc-99m Phytate compared to that with Tc-99m Tin-colloid, with a statistically significant difference. (p<0.05, p<0.05) Conclusion: Tc-99m Phytate is a better choice for localization of sentinel node than Tc-99m Tin-colloid in breast cancer patients.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.87-90
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• 2010

Purpose: Mondor's disease is commonly known as a benign breast condition after augmentation mammaplasty, and some authors have also reported its association with other breast surgeries such as reduction mammaplasty or axillary lymph node biopsy. Here we report two cases of Mondor's disease after immediate breast reconstruction with silicone implant. Methods: Two women, 51-year-old and 36-year-old, underwent immediate breast reconstruction with silicone implants after nipple-areolar skin-sparing mastectomy. Results: Subcutaneous cord-like firm lesion appeared on upper abdomen, axillary area following surgery. The lesion was painless and spontaneously subsided with no medications. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of Mondor's disease developed after immediate breast reconstruction using silicone implant.

• Anatomy and Cell Biology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.570-574
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• 2023

The intercostobrachial nerve (ICBN) originates from the second intercostal nerve's lateral cutaneous branch, while the median nerve (MN) typically arises from the brachial plexus's lateral and medial roots. The medial cutaneous nerve of the arm, a branch of the medial cord of the brachial plexus, often connects with the ICBN. Variations were observed during the dissection of a 50-year-old male cadaver, including MN having two lateral roots (LR), LR1 and LR2, joining at different levels. Three ICBNs innervated the arm in this case, with the absence of the medial cutaneous nerve of the arm compensated by branches from the medial cutaneous nerve of the forearm. Understanding these anatomical variations is crucial for surgical procedures like brachioplasty, breast augmentation, axillary lymph node dissection, and orthopedic surgery. Surgeons and medical professionals must be aware of these variations to enhance preoperative planning, minimize complications, and improve patient outcomes in these procedures.

• Journal of Breast Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.447-452
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• 2018

Purpose: The recent trend in breast cancer treatment is to minimize axillary dissection. However, no pattern of axillary metastasis has been precisely established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the metastatic lymphatic pattern using near-infrared fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green (ICG) in breast cancer with cytologically proven axillary metastasis. Methods: This was a prospective single-center study. We evaluated 147 patients with breast cancer involving cytologically proven axillary metastasis, and compared physiological and nonphysiological lymphatic metastasis. Results: We performed lymphatic mapping for 64 patients who exhibited level II lymphatic flow on near-infrared fluorescence imaging with ICG, and found that all had axillary metastasis: 51 patients who did not receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and 13 patients post-NAC. Of patients who did not receive NAC, 32 had physiological lymphatic metastasis and 19 had nonphysiological lymphatic metastasis. The risk factors for nonphysiological lymphatic metastasis were age ${\geq}55$ years, high Ki-67 index (>20%), and perinodal extension in both univariate and multivariate analysis (p<0.05). Conclusion: Patients with identified risk factors in cytologically-proven axillary metastasis who did not receive NAC may have nonphysiological lymphatic metastasis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.3435-3441
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• 2014

Background: Axillary lymph node status at diagnosis remains the strongest predictor of long-term survival in breast cancer. Patients with more than ten axillary lymph nodes at diagnosis have a poor long-term survival. In this single institutional study, we set out to evaluate the prognosis of this high-risk group in the era of multimodality therapy. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, we looked at all breast cancer patients with greater than ten axillary lymph nodes diagnosed at Mount Sinai Medical Center (MSMC) from January 1st 1990 to December 31st 2007 (n=161). In the univariate analysis, descriptive frequencies, median survival, and 5- and 10-year survival rates were estimated for common prognostic factors. A multivariate prognostic analysis for time-to-event data, using the extended Cox regression model was carried out. Results: With a median and mean follow-up of 70 and 89.9 months, respectively, the overall median survival was estimated to be 99 months. The five-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 59.3% and the ten-year DFS was 37.9%, whereas the five- and ten-year overall survival (OS) was 66.6% and 43.9%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant improvement in DFS among black patients compared to whites (p=0.05), improved DFS and OS among young patients (ages 21-45) compared to elderly patients (age greater than 70) (p=0.00176, p=0.0034, respectively), and improved DFS and OS among patients whose tumors were ER positive (p=0.049, p=0.0034). Conclusions: In this single institution study of patients with greater than 10 positive axillary nodes, black patients had a significantly improved DFS compared with white patients. Young age and ER tumor positivity was associated with improved outcomes. Using multivariate analysis, there were no other variables associated with statistically significant improvements in DFS or OS including date of diagnosis. Further work is needed to improve breast cancer survival in this subgroup of patients.