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Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between hormone receptors (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) discordance with prognosis, before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Histopathological data of 142 breast cancer patients attending a single center between 2001 and 2018 and were operated after NAC were evaluated retrospectively. Results: The median (range) age of patients was 58 (32-69) years. In patients who underwent Tru-cut biopsy before NAC, 77 patients were ER+, 30 were ER (-), 73 were PR (+), 33 were PR-, 14 were HER-2 (+), and 94 patients were HER-2 (-). In terms of ER change, five patients were found to have changed status and 85 had no receptor change. The mean overall survival of patients with receptor changes was 31 months against 60 months in patients with no receptor changes, which was not significant (p = 0.351). In sub-group analysis of patients undergoing receptor change, the ER (+) → (-) group had significantly shorter survival (p = 0.003). For PR change, mean survival was 38 months in seven patients with a receptor change and 59 months in 87 patients without a receptor change, which was not significant (p = 0.603). Sub-group analysis of PR status change showed that survival was significantly shorter in the PR (+) → (-) group (p = 0.012). Conclusion: These results suggest there is a need for reassessment of HR and HER-2 status in surgical samples from patients following NAC, and that NAC-induced changes in the HR state may be used as a prognostic factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Neuroendocrine breast carcinoma (NEBC) is a rare subgroup of breast cancer, which makes up 2-5% of all invasive breast cancers. The aim of this retrospective analysis is to present and analyze our own data of primary NEBCs. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical, pathological, and radiological characteristics of 36 patients diagnosed with neuroendocrine differentiated breast cancer between 2008 and 2019 compared to that of 925 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC/NOS) along with a literature review. Results: In this study, 36 patients with neuroendocrine differentiated breast carcinoma and 961 patients with (IDC/NOS), as the comparison group, were identified between 2008 and 2019. In NEBC patients, seven were premenopausal and 29 postmenopausal. Patients whose ultrasound (USG), magnetic resonance, and mammographic (MMG) images available in our hospital, high-density masses were detected in the MMG with irregular (77%), microlobulated (80%) and spiculated margins (63%), unaccompanied by asymmetry and structural distortion. Calcifications were less common than invasive breast cancer, present only in four patients (17%). When NEBC were compared to ductal carcinomas (n=925), NEBC were more often human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (p=0.039), estrogen receptor positive (p=0.05), progesterone receptor positive (0.03), and the NEBC patients were older (p=0.02). Age, grade, metastatic status, lymph node number, and molecular type were identified as prognostic factors that significantly affect survival in both groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: NEBC is a subtype that is both histopathologically and radiologically distinct from other breast cancer subtypes, and neuroendocrine differentiation may be an important predictive marker in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women diagnosed with breast cancer at young ages (≤35 years) have a substantially shorter overall survival durations. According to molecular pathological classification, triple negative and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) positive breast cancer subgroups are related with poorer prognosis compared to luminal disease. Based on this rational, the primary objective was to evaluate the impact of age on determining molecular subgroups and whether the different outcomes of patients ≤35 years and >35 years of age are caused by the diversity of molecular subgroups. Methods: A total of 216 patients ≤35 years and randomly selected 212 patients of all breast cancer patients >35 years, presented to Ege University Department of Oncology were enrolled in the study. Molecular subtyping was based on estrogen, progesterone receptors (ER, PR), cerb-B2 and Ki-67 proliferation index assessed by immunohistochemistry. Luminal A disease was defined as ER (+), PR (+), cerb-B2 (-), Ki-67 ≤15. Patients with ER/PR (+), cerb-B2 (-)/(+), Ki-67 ≥15 were classified as Luminal B. If all three receptors were negative, it was accepted as triple negative disease and HER-2 positive disease was characterized by lack of hormone receptors and presence of cerb-B2. Results: Fifty-two percent in younger group were Luminal B and 19% were triple negative, which composed the largest proportion of the young group. Among the >35 years group the majority was Luminal B (39%) as similar in very young population, however, this was followed by Luminal A (31%) that has favorable prognostic features. Statistically, there was no significant difference in molecular subtypes between the two age groups. However, triple negative subtype and Ki-67 ≥15% which is associated with poorer prognosis, was numerically higher among ≤35 years of group. Conclusion: Young women diagnosed with breast cancer have poorer prognosis. However, in our study, there was no statistically significant difference in molecular subtypes between two diverse age groups. This could be explained by small size of the study population, but also could be an indication that age is an independent prognostic factor apart from other clinicopathologic features. Yet, since Luminal B and triple negatives were the largest subgroup in very young population, worse prognosis of the disease in this group may be explained by this diversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Cytotoxic treatment may cause weight gain and important alterations in the metabolic status of breast cancer (BC) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in metabolic and anthropometric parameters of patients with BC who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods All consecutive women treated with adjuvant TAC (docetaxel 75 mg/m2, doxorubicine 50 mg/m2, cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2) chemotherapy for node-positive breast carcinoma at our Institution between 2008 and 2010 were included. Results Among 104 patients, 84 of them were stage II and 20 of them were stage III. When we compared the measurements between 1st and 6th adjuvant chemotherapy, we observed statistically significant increases in weight and serum triglyceride levels, and decreases in high density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein A-1, transferrin, albumin and prealbumin levels. An elevation of follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone together with the decrease of estradiol was detected. Waist-to-hip ratio has also increased significantly. In subgroup analyses, we observed dramatic changes in body mass index in pre-menopausal women whereas no significant change was seen in the post-menopausal group. Conclusions Adjuvant chemotherapy may contribute to an increased risk for metabolic syndrome in patients with BC and these changes are more profound in pre-menopausal patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]