scholarly journals Pilot Clinical Study Investigating the Thermal Physiology of Breast Cancer via High-Resolution Infrared Imaging

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Adolfo Lozano ◽  
Jody C. Hayes ◽  
Lindsay M. Compton ◽  
Fatemeh Hassanipour

This descriptive study investigates breast thermal characteristics in females histologically diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer and in their contralateral normal breasts. The multi-institutional clinical pilot study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) at participating institutions. Eleven female subjects with radiologic breast abnormalities were enrolled in the study between June 2019 and September 2019 after informed consent was obtained. Static infrared images were recorded for each subject. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to conduct paired comparisons in temperature data between breasts among the eight histologically diagnosed breast cancer subjects (n = 8). Localized temperatures of cancerous breast lesions were significantly warmer than corresponding regions in contralateral breasts (34.0 ± 0.9 °C vs. 33.2 ± 0.5 °C, p = 0.0142, 95% CI 0.25–1.5 °C). Generalized temperatures over cancerous breasts, in contrast, were not significantly warmer than corresponding regions in contralateral breasts (33.9 ± 0.8 °C vs. 33.4 ± 0.4 °C, p = 0.0625, 95% CI −0.05–1.45 °C). Among the breast cancers enrolled, breast cancers elevated temperatures locally at the site of the lesion (localized hyperthermia), but not over the entire breast (generalized hyperthermia).

Dermatology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 235 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Guastafierro ◽  
Vincenzo Verdura ◽  
Bruno Di Pace ◽  
Mario Faenza ◽  
Corrado Rubino

Background/Aims: Cherry angiomas (CAs) are one of the most common vascular manifestations of the skin. By and large, these benign lesions often only represent an aesthetic problem. In the literature, few authors have focused on the pathogenesis of these lesions, and some risk factors have been identified, such as the presence of cutaneous and non-skin neoplasias. In this study, the correlation between the distribution of CAs and breast cancer was investigated. Methods: We carried out a study whereby 50 women with unilateral breast cancer and the presence of CAs on the anterior thoracic wall were evaluated, with a particular focus on the difference in the number of CAs between the two haemithoraces. The data was elaborated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test in order to evaluate whether there was a statistical significance in the distribution of CAs. Results: In 31 patients we found that the number of CAs was greater on the cancerous breast than on the contralateral one (p value <0.0001). This was confirmed both in the group of patients suffering from ductal breast cancer and in the group with early invasive breast tumours. Conclusion: It is not clear whether CAs develop prior to or following breast cancer, indicating the possibility that this cutaneous manifestation could take on a predictive, prognostic development or represent only an epiphenomenon. Further in-depth studies into the pathogenesis of CAs and the relationship with breast cancer could lead to noteworthy diagnostic-therapeutic advances.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Lu Yang ◽  
Yi Qi Hu ◽  
Jia Huang ◽  
Chen Ao Zhan ◽  
Min Xiong Zhou ◽  
...  

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging DWI (rs-EPI DWI) in detecting and characterizing breast cancers in a large Chinese cohort with comparison to dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI).Methods: The institutional review board approved this retrospective study with waived written informed consent. A total of 520 women (mean age, 43.1- ± 10.5-years) were included from July 2013 to October 2019. First, the ability of rs-EPI DWI in detecting breast lesions identified by DCE-MRI was evaluated. The lesion conspicuity of rs-EPI-DWI and DCE-MRI was compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. With pathology as a reference, the performance of rs-EPI DWI and DCE-MRI in distinguishing breast cancers was evaluated and compared using the Chi-square test.Results: Of 520 women, 327/520 (62.9%) patients had 423 lesions confirmed by pathology with 203 benign and 220 malignant lesions. The rs-EPI DWI can detect 90.8% (659/726) (reader 1) and 90.6% (663/732) (reader 2) of lesions identified by DCE-MRI. The lesion visibility was superior for DCE-MRI than rs-EPI-DWI (all p &lt; 0.05). With pathology as a reference, the sensitivities and specificities of rs-EPI DWI in diagnosing breast cancers were 95.9% (211/220) and 85.7% (174/203) for reader 1 and 97.7% (215/220) and 86.2% (175/203) for reader 2. No significant differences were found for the performance of DCE-MRI and rs-EPI DWI in discriminating breast cancers (all p &gt; 0.05).Conclusions: Although with an inferior lesion visibility, rs-EPI DWI can detect about 90% of breast lesions identified by DCE-MRI and has comparable diagnostic capacity to that of DCE-MRI in identifying breast cancer.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dechuang Jiao ◽  
Jingyang Zhang ◽  
Jiujun Zhu ◽  
Xuhui Guo ◽  
Yue Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Previous studies have reported poor survival rates in inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients than non-inflammatory local advanced breast cancer (non-IBC) patients. However, until now, the survival rate of IBC and other T4 non-IBC (T4-non-IBC) patients remains unexplored. Methods Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was searched to identify cases with confirmed non-metastatic IBC and T4-non-IBC who had received surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy between 2010 and 2015. IBC was defined as per the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th edition. Breast Cancer-Specific Survival (BCSS) was estimated by plotting the Kaplan-Meier curve and compared across groups by using the log-rank test. Cox model was constructed to determine the association between IBC and BCSS after adjusting for age, race, stage of disease, tumor grade and surgery type. Results Out of a total of 1986 patients, 37.1% had IBC and mean age was 56.6 ± 12.4. After a median follow-up time of 28 months, 3-year BCSS rate for IBC and T4-non-IBC patients was 81.4 and 81.9%, respectively (log-rank p = 0.398). The 3-year BCSS rate in HR−/HER2+ cohort was higher for IBC patients than T4-non-IBC patients (89.5% vs. 80.8%; log-rank p = 0.028), and in HR−/HER2- cohort it was significantly lower for IBC patients than T4-non-IBC patients (57.4% vs. 67.5%; log-rank p = 0.010). However, it was identical between IBC and T4-non-IBC patients in both HR+/HER2- (85.0% vs. 85.3%; log-rank p = 0.567) and HR+/HER2+ (93.6% vs. 91.0%, log-rank p = 0.510) cohorts. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, we observed that IBC is a significant independent predictor for survival of HR−/HER2+ cohort (hazards ratio [HR] = 0.442; 95% CI: 0.216–0.902; P = 0.025) and HR−/HER2- cohort (HR = 1.738; 95% CI: 1.192–2.534; P = 0.004). Conclusions Patients with IBC and T4-non-IBC had a similar BCSS in the era of modern systemic treatment. In IBC patients, the HR−/HER2+ subtype is associated with a better outcome, and HR−/HER2- subtype is associated with poorer outcomes as compared to the T4-non-IBC patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecile A. Lengacher ◽  
Richard R. Reich ◽  
Carly L. Paterson ◽  
Melissa Shelton ◽  
Steve Shivers ◽  
...  

Breast cancer survivors (BCS) often experience psychological and physiological symptoms after cancer treatment. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a complementary and alternative therapy, has reduced subjective measures of stress, anxiety, and fatigue among BCS. Little is known, however, about how MBSR affects objective markers of stress, specifically the stress hormone cortisol and the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). In the present study, BCS ( N = 322) were randomly assigned to a 6-week MBSR program for BC or usual-care control. Measurements of cortisol, IL-6, symptoms, and quality of life were obtained at orientation and 6 weeks. Cortisol and IL-6 were also measured prior to and after the MBSR(BC) class Weeks 1 and 6. The mean age of participants was 56.6 years and 69.4% were White non-Hispanic. Most had Stage I (33.8%) or II (35.7%) BC, and 35.7% had received chemotherapy and radiation. Cortisol levels were reduced immediately following MBSR(BC) class compared to before the class Weeks 1 and 6 (Wilcoxon-signed rank test; p < .01, d = .52–.56). IL-6 was significantly reduced from pre- to postclass at Week 6 (Wilcoxon-signed rank test; p < .01, d = .21). No differences were observed between the MBSR(BC) and control groups from baseline to Week 6 using linear mixed models. Significant relationships with small effect sizes were observed between IL-6 and both symptoms and quality of life in both groups. Results support the use of MBSR(BC) to reduce salivary cortisol and IL-6 levels in the short term in BCS.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e11507-e11507
Author(s):  
L. Favier ◽  
M. Liegard ◽  
S. Guiu ◽  
I. van Praagh ◽  
R. Largillier ◽  
...  

e11507 Background: Almost 20% of breast cancers over express Her2, which is associated with a more aggressive phenotype and with a decreased survival. Nevertheless, trastuzumab (T) has been a revolutionary step in the adjuvant and in the metastatic treatments of Her2 positive breast cancers. Here, we focus on neoadjuvant T and try to determine the factors correlating with disease free survival and with overall survival in Her2 positive breast cancer treated with T based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: Data from two published T based neoadjuvant phases II were used: the TAX-HER trial which studied the use of 6 courses of 3 weekly docetaxel with weekly neoadjuvant T (scheme TH) (Coudert et. al. Annals of Oncology 2006) and the GET(N)A-1 trial which studied the use of 6 courses of 3 weekly docetaxel and carboplatin along with weekly neoadjuvant T (scheme TCH) followed by 3 weekly adjuvant T (Coudert et. al. JCO 2007). Moreover, additional patients from our institution and treated by neoadjuvant TH and adjuvant T were included. Survival curves were estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods and compared by log-rank test. Results: Data was available for 128 patients. 62 patients (48.4%) received neoadjuvant TH from whom 39 did not receive adjuvant T. 66 (51.6%) received neoadjuvant TCH and adjuvant T. Tumors characteristics were as followed: 65 (50.7%) SBR 1–2, 54 (42.19%) SBR 3, 49 (38.28%) hormonal receptors (RH) negative and 72 (56.25%) RH positive. The rate of pathological complete response (pCR) (Chevalier 1/2) was 39.6%. Overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort was 74,8 months. Relapse was defined as local, regional, metastatic relapse or death. Survival without relapse (SR) was 74.8 months. No difference was noted in OS and in SR according to the type of chemotherapy, TH or TCH. pCR did significantly influence SR (p = 0. 03) and survival without local recurrence (SLR) (p = 0.04) but neither OS nor survival without metastatic relapse (SMR). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that OS was correlated with node response (as defined by sataloff grade NA or NB) (p=0.0275) and the use of hormonal therapy in RH positive tumors (p=0.0724). [Table: see text]


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen R. Brandt ◽  
Christopher G. Scott ◽  
Diana L. Miglioretti ◽  
Matthew R. Jensen ◽  
Amir P. Mahmoudzadeh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Given that breast cancer and normal dense fibroglandular tissue have similar radiographic attenuation, we examine whether automated volumetric density measures identify a differential change between breasts in women with cancer and compare to healthy controls. Methods Eligible cases (n = 1160) had unilateral invasive breast cancer and bilateral full-field digital mammograms (FFDMs) at two time points: within 2 months and 1–5 years before diagnosis. Controls (n = 2360) were matched to cases on age and date of FFDMs. Dense volume (DV) and volumetric percent density (VPD) for each breast were assessed using Volpara™. Differences in DV and VPD between mammograms (median 3 years apart) were calculated per breast separately for cases and controls and their difference evaluated by using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. To simulate clinical practice where cancer laterality is unknown, we examined whether the absolute difference between breasts can discriminate cases from controls using area under the ROC curve (AUC) analysis, adjusting for age, BMI, and time. Results Among cases, the VPD and DV between mammograms of the cancerous breast decreased to a lesser degree (− 0.26% and − 2.10 cm3) than the normal breast (− 0.39% and − 2.74 cm3) for a difference of 0.13% (p value < 0.001) and 0.63 cm3 (p = 0.002), respectively. Among controls, the differences between breasts were nearly identical for VPD (− 0.02 [p = 0.92]) and DV (0.05 [p = 0.77]). The AUC for discriminating cases from controls using absolute difference between breasts was 0.54 (95% CI 0.52, 0.56) for VPD and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.54, 0.58) for DV. Conclusion There is a small relative increase in volumetric density measures over time in the breast with cancer which is not found in the normal breast. However, the magnitude of this difference is small, and this measure alone does not appear to be a good discriminator between women with and without breast cancer.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambrogio P. Londero ◽  
Sergio Bernardi ◽  
Serena Bertozzi ◽  
Vito Angione ◽  
Giuliana Gentile ◽  
...  

Objective. There is increasing interest in patients with metachronous (MBC) and synchronous breast cancer (SBC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and outcome of MBCs and SBCs.Methods. A retrospective study on women operated in our department for breast cancer between 2002 and 2005 was carried out. Patients were divided into three groups: women with MBC, SBC, and unilateral breast cancer (UBC). Moreover, we performed a meta-analysis of the English literature about multiple breast cancers between 2000 and 2011 taking into consideration their prevalence and overall survival (OS).Results. We identified 584 breast cancer patients: 16 women (3%) presented SBC and 40 MBC (7%, second cancer after 72-month follow-up IQR 40–145). Although the meta-analysis showed significant OS differences between MBC or SBC and UBC, we did not observe any significant OS difference among the three groups of our population. Anyway, we found a significant worse disease-free survival in MBC than UBC and a significant higher prevalence of radical surgery in MBC and SBC than UBC.Conclusions.Despite the low prevalence of MBC and SBC, the presence of a long time risk of MBC confirms the crucial role of ipsi- and contralateral mammographies in the postoperative follow-up.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 1951-1961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alphonse G. Taghian ◽  
Rita Abi-Raad ◽  
Sherif I. Assaad ◽  
Adrian Casty ◽  
Marek Ancukiewicz ◽  
...  

Purpose It has been hypothesized that tumors with high interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and/or hypoxia respond poorly to chemotherapy (CT) because of poor drug delivery. Preclinical studies have shown that paclitaxel reduces the IFP and improves the oxygenation (pO2) of tumors. Our aim is to evaluate the IFP and pO2 before and after neoadjuvant CT using sequential paclitaxel and doxorubicin in patients with breast cancer tumors of ≥ 3 cm. Patients and Methods Patients were randomly assigned, according to an institutional review board–approved phase II protocol, to receive neoadjuvant sequential CT consisting of either four cycles of dose-dense doxorubicin at 60 mg/m2 every 2 weeks followed by nine cycles of weekly paclitaxel at 80 mg/m2 (group 1) or vice versa, with paclitaxel administered before doxorubicin (group 2). Patients were re-evaluated clinically and radiologically. The IFP (wick-in-needle technique) and pO2 (Eppendorf) were measured in tumors at baseline and after completing the administration of the first and second drug. Results IFP and pO2 were measured in 54 patients at baseline and after the first CT. Twenty-nine and 25 patients were randomly assigned to groups 1 and 2, respectively. Paclitaxel, when administered first, decreased the mean IFP by 36% (P = .02) and improved the tumor pO2 by almost 100% (P = .003). In contrast, doxorubicin did not have a significant effect on either parameter. This difference was independent of the tumor size or response measured by ultrasound. Conclusion Paclitaxel significantly decreased the IFP and increased the pO2, whereas doxorubicin did not cause any significant changes. Tumor physiology could potentially be used to optimize the sequence of neoadjuvant CT in breast cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Yang ◽  
XiaoXi Ma ◽  
Wentao Yang ◽  
Ruohong Shui

Abstract The precise stage of lymph node (LN) metastasis is a strong prognostic factor in breast cancers, and sentinel lymph node (SLN) is the first station of nodal metastasis. A number of patients have extranodal extension (ENE) in SLN, whereas the clinical values of ENE in SLN in breast cancers are still in exploration. The aim of our study was to evaluate the predictive and prognostic values of ENE in SLN in breast cancers, and to investigate the feasibility of ENE to predict non-SLN metastasis, nodal burden, disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in clinical practice. 266 cases of primary invasive breast cancer (cT1-2N0 breast cancer) underwent SLN biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) between 2008 and 2015 were extracted from the pathology database of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. ENE in SLN was defined as extension of neoplastic cells through the lymph-nodal capsule into the peri-nodal adipose tissue, and was classified as no larger than 2 mm and larger than 2 mm group. The associations between ENE and clinicopathological features, non-SLN metastasis, nodal burden, DFS, and OS were analyzed. In the 266 patients with involved SLN, 100(37.6%) were positive for ENE in SLN. 67 (25.2%) cases had ENE no larger than 2 mm in diameter, and 33(12.4%) had ENE larger than 2 mm. Among the clinicopathological characteristics, the presence of ENE in SLN was associated with higher pT and pN stages, PR status, lympho-vascular invasion. Logistic regression analysis indicated that patients with ENE in SLN had higher rate of non-SLN metastasis (OR4.80, 95% CI 2.47–9.34, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, in patients with SLN micrometastasis or 1–2 SLNs involvement, ENE positive patients had higher rate of non-SLN metastasis, comparing with ENE negative patients (P < 0.001, P = 0.004 respectively). The presence of ENE in SLN was correlated with nodal burden, including the pattern and number of involved SLN (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 respectively), the number of involved non-SLN and total positive LNs (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 respectively). Patients with ENE had significantly higher frequency of pN2 disease (P < 0.001). For the disease recurrence and survival status, Cox regression analysis showed that patients with ENE in SLN had significantly reduced DFS (HR 3.05, 95%CI 1.13–10.48, P = 0.008) and OS (HR 3.34, 95%CI 0.74–14.52, P = 0.092) in multivariate analysis. Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank test showed that patients with ENE in SLN had lower DFS and OS (for DFS: P < 0.001; and for OS: P < 0.001 respectively). Whereas no significant difference was found in nodal burden between ENE ≤ 2 mm and > 2 mm groups, except the number of SLN metastasis was higher in patients with ENE > 2 mm. Cox regression analysis, Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank test indicated that the size of ENE was not an independent factor of DFS and OS. Our study indicated that ENE in SLN was a predictor for non-SLN metastasis, nodal burden and prognosis in breast cancers. Patients with ENE in SLN had a higher rate of non-SLN metastasis, higher frequency of pN2 disease, and poorer prognosis. Patients with ENE in SLN may benefit from additional ALND, even in SLN micrometastasis or 1–2 SLNs involvement patients. The presence of ENE in SLN should be evaluated in clinical practice. Size of ENE which was classified by a 2 mm cutoff value had no significant predictive and prognostic values in this study. The cutoff values of ENE in SLN need further investigation.


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