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Summary Background Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) represents the second most common type of invasive breast cancer (BC). Although ILC generally have good prognostic properties (positive estrogen receptor, ER, low tumor grade), they are generally diagnosed at a more advanced stage. The data on the axillary lymph node status in ILC compared to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) are considered controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the pathological node stage (pN) between ILC and IDC in an Austria-wide register. Methods Data of the Clinical Tumor Register (Klinisches TumorRegister, KTR) of the Austrian Association for Gynecological Oncology (AGO) were retrospectively analyzed. Patients with primary early BC, invasive lobular or ductal, diagnosed between January 2014 and December 2018, and primary surgery were included. A total of 2127 tumors were evaluated and compared in 2 groups, ILC n = 303, IDC n = 1824. Results A total of 2095 patients were analyzed in the study. In the multivariate analysis, pN2 and pN3 were observed significantly more frequently in ILC compared with IDC (odds ratio, OR 1.93; 95% confidence interval, CI 1.19–3.14; p = 0.008 and OR 3.22; 95% CI: 1.47–7.03; p = 0.003; respectively). Other factors associated with ILC were tumor grades 2 and 3, positive ER, and pathological tumor stage (pT) 2 and pT3. In contrast, concomitant ductal carcinoma in situ, overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and a moderate and high proliferation rate (Ki67) were found less frequently in ILC. Conclusion The data show an increased risk of extensive axillary lymph node metastasis (pN2/3) in ILC.

Purpose To date, ovarian cancer screening in asymptomatic women has not shown a mortality benefit. The aim of this simulation study was to outline the impact of different histological subtypes on a potential stage-shift, achieved by screening. Methods Real-world data were derived in the period of 2000–2017 from the Klinischen Tumorregister Austria. We estimated five-year overall survival (OS) of patients with ovarian cancer regarding different histological subtypes and FIGO stages. A theoretical model was generated predicting the trend of OS mediated by an eventual down-shifting of ovarian cancer from FIGO stage III/IV to FIGO stage I/II by screening, considering the influence of different histological subtypes. Results 3458 ovarian cancer patients were subdivided according to histological subtypes and FIGO classification. Major difference in distribution of histological types was found between FIGO stage I/II and III/IV. A theoretical down-shift of tumors from high to low FIGO stages based on our registry calculations showed that the five-year OS would increase from 50% to nearly 80% by perfect screening. Conclusion In our simulation study, we showed that down-shifting ovarian cancers by successful screening might increase OS by 30 percentage point. Our results underscore the importance to recognize ovarian cancer as a heterogenous disease with distinct epidemiologic, molecular and clinical features. The individual characteristic of each histotype is of utmost impact on the definition of screening aims and may influence early detection and stage-shift. Efficacy of screening is mainly dependent on detection of high-risk cancer types and not the slow growing low-grade types.