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Abstract Background Several classification systems are available to assess pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer, but reliable biomarkers to predict the efficiency of primary systemic therapy (PST) are still missing. Deregulation of gap junction channel forming connexins (Cx) has been implicated in carcinogenesis and tumour progression through loss of cell cycle control. In this study we correlated Cx expression and cell proliferation with disease survival and pathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancers using existing classification systems. Methods The expression of Cx26, Cx32, Cx43, Cx46 and Ki67 was evaluated in 96 breast cancer patients prior to and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy using duplicate cores in tissue microarrays (TMA). Cx plaques of Results In our cohort dominated by hormone receptor (ER/PR) positive and HER2 negative cases, only the CPS-EG classification showed prognostic relevance: cases with scores 1–2 had significantly better overall survival (p=0.015) than cases with scores 3–5. Pre-chemotherapy Cx43 expression correlated positively with hormone receptor status both before and after chemotherapy and had a negative correlation with HER2 expression pre-chemotherapy. There was a positive correlation between Cx32 and HER2 expression pre-chemotherapy and between Cx32 and Ki67 expression post-chemotherapy. A negative correlation was found between post-chemotherapy Cx46 and Ki67 expression. Decreased post-chemotherapy Cx26 expression (20%) pre- and post-chemotherapy correlated with significantly better survival in the intermediate prognostic subgroups of EWGBSP TR2b (ppre-chemo=0.006; Sataloff TB (ppre-chemo=0.005; ppost-chemo=0.029) and in Miller-Payne G3 (ppre-chemo=0.002; ppost-chemo=0.012) classifications. Pre-chemotherapy, Cx46 expression was the only marker that correlated with overall survival within these subgroups. Conclusion Our results suggest that Cx46 and Cx26 expression in breast cancer may improve the assessment of pathological response and refine intermediate prognostic subgroups of residual tumour classifications used after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The impact of special histological types (ST) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and its association with overall outcome has gained increasing relevance as survival has been linked to specific histological TNBC subtypes. We evaluated the clinicopathological and survival data of 598 patients with 613 TNBCs, including 464 TNBCs of no special type (NST) and 149 TNBCs ST (low-grade, n = 12, 8.1%; high-grade, n = 112, 75.2%; apocrine and androgen receptor-positive [APO AR], n = 25, 16.8%). Patients with low-grade TNBC ST and TNBC ST APO AR were significantly older (P < 0.001) and had a lower Ki67 index (P < 0.001) than those with TNBC NST. Patients with high-grade TNBC ST were significantly older (P = 0.006) and had poorer pathological responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) (P < 0.001) than those with TNBC NST. Significant survival differences were observed between low-grade TNBC ST, TNBC ST APO AR, high-grade TNBC ST, and TNBC NST in the entire study group (DFS, P = 0.002; DDFS, P = 0.001) and in the non-NAC subgroup (OS, P = 0.034; DFS, P = 0.001; DDFS, P < 0.001). Patients with low-grade TNBC ST had the best survival outcomes. Patients with high-grade TNBC ST showed significantly worse outcomes than those with TNBC NST (entire study group: OS, P = 0.049; DFS, P < 0.001; DDFS, P = 0.001; non-NAC subgroup: OS, P = 0.014; DFS, P < 0.001; DDFS, P < 0.001). We conclude that prognostic stratification of TNBC ST is ultimately important for optimizing the therapeutic management of patients with these rare tumor entities., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Data on oncological outcomes after omission of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients with breast cancer that downstages from node positive to negative with neoadjuvant chemotherapy are sparse. Additionally, the best axillary surgical staging technique in this scenario is unknown., Objective: To investigate oncological outcomes after sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) with dual-tracer mapping or targeted axillary dissection (TAD), which combines SLNB with localization and retrieval of the clipped lymph node., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this multicenter retrospective cohort study that was conducted at 25 centers in 11 countries, 1144 patients with consecutive stage II to III biopsy-proven node-positive breast cancer were included between April 2013 and December 2020. The cumulative incidence rates of axillary, locoregional, and any invasive (locoregional or distant) recurrence were determined by competing risk analysis., Exposure: Omission of ALND after SLNB or TAD., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end points were the 3-year and 5-year rates of any axillary recurrence. Secondary end points included locoregional recurrence, any invasive (locoregional and distant) recurrence, and the number of lymph nodes removed., Results: A total of 1144 patients (median [IQR] age, 50 [41-59] years; 78 [6.8%] Asian, 105 [9.2%] Black, 102 [8.9%] Hispanic, and 816 [71.0%] White individuals; 666 SLNB [58.2%] and 478 TAD [41.8%]) were included. A total of 1060 patients (93%) had N1 disease, 619 (54%) had ERBB2 (formerly HER2)-positive illness, and 758 (66%) had a breast pathologic complete response. TAD patients were more likely to receive nodal radiation therapy (85% vs 78%; P = .01). The clipped node was successfully retrieved in 97% of TAD cases and 86% of SLNB cases (without localization). The mean (SD) number of sentinel lymph nodes retrieved was 3 (2) vs 4 (2) (P < .001), and the mean (SD) number of total lymph nodes removed was 3.95 (1.97) vs 4.44 (2.04) (P < .001) in the TAD and SLNB groups, respectively. The 5-year rates of any axillary, locoregional, and any invasive recurrence in the entire cohort were 1.0% (95% CI, 0.49%-2.0%), 2.7% (95% CI, 1.6%-4.1%), and 10% (95% CI, 8.3%-13%), respectively. The 3-year cumulative incidence of axillary recurrence did not differ between TAD and SLNB (0.5% vs 0.8%; P = .55)., Conclusions and Relevance: The results of this cohort study showed that axillary recurrence was rare in this setting and was not significantly lower after TAD vs SLNB. These results support omission of ALND in this population.

Background: When surgical axillary staging reveals residual metastatic deposits in breast cancer (BC) patients who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), axillary lymphonodectomy is indicated. In this study, we investigate whether it is reasonable to perform intraoperative frozen section (FS) of the removed sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in cases where NACT had been administered in patients who had a clinically negative nodal status at the time of diagnosis., Patients and Methods: We analyzed data from 101 BCE patients with 103 carcinomas who were diagnosed between 2014 and 2021 and met the above-mentioned criteria., Results: In three cases (2.8% of the study group), histologically active tumor tissue was detected in the removed axillary LNs. Discontinuation of therapy/the use of a low-dose NACT regimen was a significant factor for positive LNs (p = 0.02) at the subsequent surgical procedure; tumor progression during therapy approached borderline significance (p = 0.058). Among patients who had completed NACT with the planned standard dose regimen, and in which the primary tumors showed a response to therapy (n = 94), only one case had histologically detected residual metastases in the SLNs., Conclusions: Certified breast centers aim to improve the outcome of the patients. However, these specialized centers should also focus on economic aspects. This means that diagnostic and therapeutic procedures should be continuously critically reviewed in order to avoid unnecessary expenses. In BC patients with clinically node negative disease who completed NACT as planned and in which the tumor showed a good response to therapy, time consuming and costly FS of the SLNs removed should be omitted., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no financial or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence the work reported or the conclusions, implications, or opinions stated., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Recent data suggest that margins ≥2 mm after breast-conserving surgery may improve local control in invasive breast cancer (BC). By allowing large resection volumes, oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery (OBCII; Clough level II/Tübingen 5-6) may achieve better local control than conventional breast conserving surgery (BCS; Tübingen 1-2) or oncoplastic breast conservation with low resection volumes (OBCI; Clough level I/Tübingen 3-4)., Methods: Data from consecutive high-risk BC patients treated in 15 centers from the Oncoplastic Breast Consortium (OPBC) network, between January 2010 and December 2013, were retrospectively reviewed., Results: A total of 3,177 women were included, 30% of whom were treated with OBC (OBCI n = 663; OBCII n = 297). The BCS/OBCI group had significantly smaller tumors and smaller resection margins compared with OBCII (pT1: 50% vs. 37%, p = 0.002; proportion with margin <1 mm: 17% vs. 6%, p < 0.001). There were significantly more re-excisions due to R1 ("ink on tumor") in the BCS/OBCI compared with the OBCII group (11% vs. 7%, p = 0.049). Univariate and multivariable regression analysis adjusted for tumor biology, tumor size, radiotherapy, and systemic treatment demonstrated no differences in local, regional, or distant recurrence-free or overall survival between the two groups., Conclusions: Large resection volumes in oncoplastic surgery increases the distance from cancer cells to the margin of the specimen and reduces reexcision rates significantly. With OBCII larger tumors are resected with similar local, regional and distant recurrence-free as well as overall survival rates as BCS/OBCI., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Breast cancer is a biologically diverse disease with treatment modalities selected based on tumor stage and tumor biology. Distinct intrinsic subtypes and surrogate biomarker profiles play a major role for therapeutic decisions. Response rates to systemic and local treatments as well as the interaction with epidemiological risk factors have been validated in clinical trials and translational studies. This retrospective study addresses the question how biomarker profiles and treatment modalities in the neoadjuvant chemotherapy setting have changed during the past 15 years and what prognostic impact these changes implicate. 342 female breast cancer stage I-IV patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2003 and 2017 were analyzed. Overall survival (OS) was correlated with preoperative clinical stage, postoperative pathological stage, treatment modalities and tumor biology before and after chemotherapy. Two subgroups were separated using an arbitrary cut-off year at 2009/2010, due to 2010 when platinum containing regimens were first administered. Median follow-up was 54 months. 57 (17%) patients died; recurrences occurred in 103 of 342 (30%) patients. Nodal stage and intrinsic subtypes (pre- and postoperative) significantly correlated with OS (p < 0.001). Preoperative histological grading lacked prognostic power. When comparing the patient characteristics of the subgroups, we found significant difference in the following characteristics: cT, ypT, ypN, pCR and chemotherapy regimens (p < 0.001). There was no difference in OS when comparing the two subgroups. Pathological complete response (pCR) rates had a significant impact on OS and disease-free survival (DFS) in HER2+ and triple negative subtypes (p = 0.03). In multivariate analysis, high proliferation index (> 30%), clinical metastatic stage and pathological tumor stage had prognostic impact on OS (p < 0.001, p = 0.0001, p = 0.002). Clinico-pathological factors and distinct therapy regiments especially in triple negative and HER2+ subtypes have prognostic impact on pCR, OS and DFS after neoadjuvant chemotherapy., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The effect of anesthetic drugs on cancer outcomes remains unclear. This trial aimed to assess postoperative circulating tumor cell counts-an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer-to determine how anesthesia may indirectly affect prognosis. It was hypothesized that patients receiving sevoflurane would have higher postoperative tumor cell counts., Methods: The parallel, randomized controlled trial was conducted in two centers in Switzerland. Patients aged 18 to 85 yr without metastases and scheduled for primary breast cancer surgery were eligible. The patients were randomly assigned to either sevoflurane or propofol anesthesia. The patients and outcome assessors were blinded. The primary outcome was circulating tumor cell counts over time, assessed at three time points postoperatively (0, 48, and 72 h) by the CellSearch assay. Secondary outcomes included maximal circulating tumor cells value, positivity (cutoff: at least 1 and at least 5 tumor cells/7.5 ml blood), and the association between natural killer cell activity and tumor cell counts. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02005770)., Results: Between March 2014 and April 2018, 210 participants were enrolled, assigned to sevoflurane (n = 107) or propofol (n = 103) anesthesia, and eventually included in the analysis. Anesthesia type did not affect circulating tumor cell counts over time (median circulating tumor cell count [interquartile range]; for propofol: 1 [0 to 4] at 0 h, 1 [0 to 2] at 48 h, and 0 [0 to 1] at 72 h; and for sevoflurane: 1 [0 to 4] at 0 h, 0 [0 to 2] at 48 h, and 1 [0 to 2] at 72 h; rate ratio, 1.27 [95% CI, 0.95 to 1.71]; P = 0.103) or positivity. In one secondary analysis, administrating sevoflurane led to a significant increase in maximal tumor cell counts postoperatively. There was no association between natural killer cell activity and circulating tumor cell counts., Conclusions: In this randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of anesthesia on an independent prognostic factor for breast cancer, there was no difference between sevoflurane and propofol with respect to circulating tumor cell counts over time.

Juvenile papillomatosis (JP), the so-called Swiss cheese disease, is a rare benign breast disease of young adults. An association (up to 28%) with breast cancer within the family of affected patients has been reported. A multinodular cystic breast mass lesion and calcifications characterizes JP in imaging studies. The histological picture is diverse and comprises multiple intraductal papillomas, usual ductal hyperplasia, ductectasias, perifocal sclerosing adenosis, and calcification. Patients with complete excision of JP lesions have an excellent follow-up; breast cancer develops only on a very low subset of patients. Molecular background of JP has not been investigated until now. In this study, we addressed mutational analysis of JP cases and correlated these results with follow-up and family history in context with a comprehensive review of the JP literature. We identified 13 cases fulfilling the criteria of JP. All patients were women with a median age of 38 years (26-50 years). Follow-up information was available for 11 of 13 patients. Sufficient paraffin-embedded tissue and good DNA quality for next-generation sequencing (NGS) was available for 10 patients. Paraffin blocks were microdissected in the area of intraductal proliferative disease; the tissue cores underwent NGS analysis using the Oncomine Comprehensive Panel. In 5 of 10 patients, we found PIK3CA mutations; in 2 of 10 patients, we found AKT1 mutations in known hot spot regions. Further mutations in MET, FGFR3, PTEN, ATM, NF1, and GNAS genes were detected in individual patients. Some of these mutations were present at high allele frequencies suggesting germ line mutations. Two of 3 patients with positive family history had PIK3CA mutation; one patient with positive family history had an AKT1 mutation. One patient who subsequently developed invasive ductal carcinoma in the contralateral breast possibly had a germ line ATM mutation. Our results confirm hot spot mutations in PIK3CA and AKT1 genes in JP associated with positive family history for breast cancer, although these mutations are not specific for JP. The genetic link between JP, positive family history, and subsequent risk of breast cancer needs to be analyzed in further studies., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the presence of residual breast tissue (RBT) after skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) and nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) and to analyse patient- and therapy-related factors associated with RBT. Skin-sparing mastectomy and NSM are increasingly used surgical procedures. Prospective data on the completeness of breast tissue resection is lacking. However, such data are crucial for assessing oncologic safety of risk-reducing and curative mastectomies., Methods: Between April 2016 and August 2017, 99 SSM and 61 NSM were performed according to the SKINI-trial protocol, under either curative (n = 109) or risk-reducing (n = 51) indication. After breast removal, biopsies from the skin envelope (10 biopsies per SSM, 14 biopsies per NSM) were taken in predefined radial localizations and assessed histologically for the presence of RBT and of residual disease., Results: Residual breast tissue was detected in 82 (51.3%) mastectomies. The median RBT percentage per breast was 7.1%. Of all factors considered, only type of surgery (40.4% for SSM vs. 68.9% for NSM; P < 0.001) and surgeon (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with RBT. None of the remaining factors, e.g., skin flap necrosis, was associated significantly with RBT. Residual disease was detected in three biopsies., Conclusions: Residual breast tissue is commonly observed after SSM and NSM. In contrast, invasive or in situ carcinomas are rarely found in the skin envelope. Radicality of mastectomy in this trial is not associated with increased incidence of skin flap necrosis. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03470909.

Background: Accuracy in predicting pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in breast cancer is essential for the determination of therapeutic efficacy and surgical planning. This study aimed to assess the precision of ultrasound (US) for predicting pathologic complete response (pCR = ypT0) after NACT., Methods: This retrospective mono-center study included 124 invasive breast cancer patients treated with NACT. Patients received US before and after NACT with documentation of clinical partial response (cPR) and clinical complete response (cCR). Post-operatively, the pathologic response was defined as absence of tumor cells (ypT0), presence of non-invasive tumor cells (ypTis) or invasive tumor cells (ypTinv). Sensitivity and specificity of US as well as false negative rate (FNR), negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV) were analysed for receptor subtypes. A multivariable logistic regression model assessed the influence of patient- and tumor-associated covariates as predictors for pCR., Results: 50 patients (40.3%) achieved pCR, 39 (78.0%) had a corresponding cCR. Overall sensitivity was 60.8% and specificity 78.0% for US-predicted remission. NPV and FNR differed substantially between subtypes. NPV was highest (75.0%) in triple negative (TN) subtype, while FNR was low (37.5%). Therefore, pathological response was most accurately predicted for TN cancers. NPV for human-epidermal-growth-factor-receptor-2-positive/hormone-receptor-positive (HER2+/HR+) was 55.6%, for HER2+/HR- 64.3% and for HER2-/HR+ 16.7%, FNRs were 40.0%, 71.4% and 32.3%, respectively. Receptor subtypes impacted pCR significantly (p-value: 0.0033), cCR correlated positively with pCR (p-value: 0.0026)., Conclusion: US imaging is insufficient to predict pCR with adequate accuracy. Receptor subtypes, however, affect diagnostic precision of US and pathologic outcome., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)