Breast-conserving treatment in oncoplastic times: indications, cosmesis, and quality of life

Breast-conserving treatment was established as an oncologically safe procedure for breast cancer. However, the cosmetic outcomes of breast-conserving treatments are often unsatisfactory. In this scenario, oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery incorporated plastic surgery concepts and techniques into the oncological treatment in order to ensure better cosmesis, thus increasing the indications for breast-conserving treatment. At the same time, oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery is usually presented as a generic term, which should be evaluated taking many aspects into account: indication, patient selection, the surgery itself, cosmetic quality, and quality of life — data that are still scarce in the literature.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast: case report

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) of the breast is an uncommon invasive lobular neoplasm whose morphology is similar to the homonymous tumor of salivary glands and with a peculiar behavior toward the “triple-negative” (TN) profile. Tumors belonging to this family do not immunohistochemically express three of the main prognostic biomarkers and tend to show a more aggressive behavior. However, this rare histological pattern of breast cancer is generally associated with good prognosis. In this study, the authors describe the case of a 49-year-old woman diagnosed with this rare malignant tumor and who underwent breast-conserving surgery. Recent studies have aimed to understand the genes, genetic alterations, and etiological aspects related to the still obscure etiopathogenesis of AdCC. Thus, morphological and molecular aspects relevant to AdCC and reported in the literature will be discussed.

Myeloid sarcoma in the breast in a patient withacute myeloid leukemia: a case report

Myeloid sarcoma infiltration into the breast of patients with acute myeloid leukemia is rare. The present study reports the case of a 56-year-old woman diagnosed with AML and an incidental finding of a breast tumor. The nodule biopsy raised the suspicion of invasive lobular carcinoma and poorly differentiated angiosarcoma. Subsequent immunohistochemical study concluded the diagnosis of myeloid sarcoma. The varied image presentations, the lack of knowledge of clinical data and complementary propaedeutics, and the histopathological similarity with certain primary breast lesions make it difficult to discover secondary infiltration by myeloid sarcoma in this unusual site.

Recurrent diffuse large B-cell lymphomamimicking primary breast cancer

Breast lymphoma can represent 0.8%–2.2% of extranodal lymphomas and 0.1%–0.5% of primary breast neoplasms. Imaging findings are not specific, and its distinction from primary invasive breast carcinoma should be based on clinical data and histopathological analysis. We present the case of a 62-year-old woman who showed an unusual pattern of recurrent diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) mimicking primary breast cancer on imaging studies, including mammography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT).

Metaplastic breast carcinoma:series of cases and literature review

Introduction: Metaplastic breast carcinoma is a heterogeneous group of infrequent invasive carcinomas with aggressive behavior. It presents differentiation from the neoplastic ductal epithelium to squamous and/or sarcomatous mesenchymal component, through the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process, and may present morphology of epithelioid and fusiform cells, with possible cartilage, bone, lipomatous, fibromatous, smooth muscle or skeletal muscle differentiation, among others. Most of the cases present the triple-negative immunohistochemical profile. Objective: To report three cases of metaplastic carcinomas, with an emphasis on clinical and pathological aspects, in addition to conducting a literature review on this topic. Methods: The three cases were registered in the internal search system for reference services in breast pathology in São Paulo, between 2012 and 2019. For literature review, the keywords metaplastic carcinoma, breast, cancer, review, breast cancer subtype and pathological and clinical outcomes were used in PubMed. We found 154 articles, of which 42 were selected for full reading, based on the abstract and established inclusion criteria. After this initial selection, these articles were read and reviewed; nine articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded. Discussion: Three cases of metaplastic carcinoma with similar immunohistochemical characteristics have been reported. The first case is that of a 40-year-old patient with the diagnosis of metaplastic carcinoma producing a chondroid matrix with liposarcomatous and osteosarcomatous differentiation. The second case is that of a 50-year-old patient who presented with the final diagnosis for a fusocellular metaplastic carcinoma with lymph node metastasis. Finally, the third case described is that of a 59-year-old patient, who presented metaplastic carcinoma with chondroid differentiation. Conclusion: Metaplastic carcinoma is a rare and aggressive type of breast cancer, in which most of the patients have shorter survival and worse prognosis in relation to the other subtypes. More studies are needed in order to determine a gold standard treatment for this disease.

Pathogenic variants inBRCA1/2genes among patientswith triple-negative breast cancer: a case series

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an uncommon molecular subtype (representing 15%–20% of breast cancers) characterized by the non-expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth receptor factor 2. More aggressive and lethal, TNBC is often associated with pathogenic variants in BRCA1/2 genes. This study aimed to describe a series of seven cases of patients with TNBC and pathogenic variants in BRCA1/2 genes. All patients were female and under 50 years of age at diagnosis. Four of them presented a family history of breast cancer and/or other neoplasms. The predominant clinical stage was IIB, and the main anatomopathological stage was pT2pN0M0. The mean tumor size in the series was 2.5 cm (1.0 to 3.2 cm). Ki-67 was > 30% in all patients. Three cases (43%) had pathological complete response, and only one presented extensive residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Six patients showed pathogenic variants in BRCA1 (86%) and one in BRCA2+ (14%). After a mean follow-up of 38 months (19 to 68 months), five patients were alive and without neoplastic disease, and two progressed to metastasis.

Minimally invasive treatment of gynecomastia by ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted excision: report of a case series

Introduction: Gynecomastia (GM) is a benign proliferation of glandular breast tissue in men. Some cases need surgical intervention. Traditional open surgery by semicircular inferior periareolar incision is the most common surgical approach. In order to obtain better esthetic results, some alternatives to open surgery have been proposed, such as liposuction, endoscopic mastectomy, and vacuum-assisted excision (VAE). Objective: To describe the technical surgical approach of ultrasound-guided VAE of GM and its results from a case series. Method: This is an evaluation of seven GM cases submitted to ultrasound-guided VAE with a 10G needle using the ENCOR® BD whole circumference automated breast biopsy system in Redimasto – Redimama, a Brazilian breast center. The result was considered good or satisfactory when it showed minimal remaining gland, good symmetry, no retraction, necrosis, hypertrophic scar, or displacement of the nipple-areola complex. All patients answered a questionnaire to evaluate their satisfaction and perception of the procedure. Results: Seven (7) patients with Simon grade 1 and 2 bilateral GM underwent ultrasound-guided VAE. No case of displacement, necrosis, or retraction of the nipple-areola complex, post-procedure bleeding, infection, skin necrosis, or asymmetry was detected. No patient reported decrease or change in nipple sensation or erection. All patients had bruises and hematomas that spontaneously resolved within 30 days. All results were considered good or excellent by patients and surgeons. Conclusion: Minimally invasive ultrasound-guided VAE is an excellent alternative for the treatment of GM. It is better indicated for Simon grade 1 and 2 GM, with good and excellent esthetic results, small scar, and low rates of nipple and areolar complications. It allows an outpatient procedure with low morbidity (local anesthesia) and fast recovery.

Pleomorphic adenoma of the breast

Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is a common tumor of the salivary gland, but rarely occurs in the breast. PA of the breast is a benign tumor that usually presents as a periareolar nodule. Core-needle biopsies may yield misdiagnosis with complex fibroadenoma, phyllodes tumor and metaplastic breast cancer due to the mixture of stromal and epithelial elements. We present a case of PA of the breast suspected after core-needle biopsy, but confirmed after surgical excision. The importance to make a correct diagnosis consists in avoid extensive unnecessary surgery, such as mastectomy, since PA can be treated with local surgical resection.

Clinicopathologic profile of breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy at HUCFF/UFRJ

Introduction: The objective of this study is to describe the profile of patients from a public institution, submitted to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), comparing the verified pathological response with literature data. Methods: Observational retrospective cohort study on breast cancer patients diagnosed between September 2001 and October 2018 and treated with NACT at Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho (HUCFF/UFRJ), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The adopted neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen was based on anthracycline and docetaxel. Results: A total of 133 patients were evaluated. The average age in this group was 54 years (28-86), 49 women (37%) were under 50 years old. The following distribution by molecular subtype was observed: overexpression or amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2+) (13 women, 26.6%), Luminal (19 women, 38.8%), and Triple-negative (TN) (17 women, 34.6%). The HER2+ and TN subtypes had a higher incidence of cases between 40-49 years and 50-59 years. As for the initial staging, 34% were IIIA; 26%, IIB; and 19%, IIIB. Only one patient did not undergo surgery after NACT, 33 (24.8%) underwent conservative surgery, and 99 patients (74.4%) underwent mastectomy. Regarding the axillary approach, 41 (31%) underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy and 88 (66%) had an indication for lymphadenectomy. In the anatomopathological evaluation of the surgery, 12 (9.1%) patients obtained a pathologic complete response (pCR) and 113 (84.9%), partial or no response to chemotherapy. Conclusion: This research enabled the identification of clinicopathologic characteristics and outcome of patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a public university service. The predominance of advanced tumors was observed, stressing the need for public health policies for the screening of breast cancer as well as the guarantee of timely treatment for diagnosed cases. The data somewhat reflect the difficulty that the public sector encounters to carry out the most appropriate treatment. The authors expect that this article, by analyzing the profile and the adopted treatment in real-life cases and in a public university institution, can contribute to the improvement of breast cancer treatment in Brazil.