Purpose: Assessing lymph node metastasis, tumor-derived DNA, or tumor-derived RNA has previously been studied in place of immunohistochemical assay. Because a direct reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification method (direct RT-LAMP) has been previously developed in order to rapidly identify viruses in place of RNA extraction, our team hypothesized that a direct RT-LAMP assay can be employed as a substitute in order to detect tumor involvement of lymph nodes within breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A total amount of 92 lymph nodes removed across 40 patients possessing breast cancer were collected at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital between the months of November 2015 and February 2016. All samples were then evaluated and contrasted via both a direct RT-LAMP assay and routine histopathologic examination. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the direct RT-LAMP assay were 85.7% and 100%, respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 100% and 94.4%, respectively. Conclusion Direct RT-LAMP assay is capable of facilitating the detection of sentinel lymph node metastasis within breast cancer patients intraoperatively possessing an excellent sensitivity via a cost-effective and time-saving manner.

Systemic therapy for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) still remains challenging because there are no targeted agents or endocrine therapies currently available. The present case report documents the successful use of cisplatin monotherapy to manage a heavily pretreated TNBC patient showing poor response to therapy. The patient was a 51-year-old woman who had already undergone several lines of systemic chemotherapy for widespread TNBC. Although the mutation analysis performed on DNA isolated from blood cells and progressed lesion samples confirmed the tumor to be germline BRCA wild-type, cisplatin monotherapy was administered based on the increasing evidence of safety and efficacy of platinum for breast cancer. After three cycles of cisplatin treatment, the patient’s metastatic lesions dramatically improved without any major toxicity, and she completed 17 cycles with good response. This case study indicates that patients with heavily pretreated TNBC can potentially achieve a good response to cisplatin monotherapy.

Ectopic male breast cancer is very rare. Consequently, there is a lack of prospective clinical trials, and most recommendations for treatment are based on the experiences of clinicians and data from female breast cancer patients. The United States Food and Drug Administration has recently approved palbociclib combined with endocrine therapy for advanced male breast cancer because of the positive results of its use in metastatic female breast cancer. Therefore, it is worth considering cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors as alternatives to conventional chemotherapies for advanced male breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative cancers. The present case report introduces the use of palbociclib plus letrozole as first-line therapy for an elderly male patient with relapsed ectopic breast cancer, notwithstanding the limitations of the current national health insurance policy.

Purpose: In patients with locally advanced breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is widely used. It has a distinct advantage in the downstaging of the primary tumor and provides important information about treatment response. With its increasing usage, concerns over the appropriate management of the axilla have emerged. In this study, we compared oncological outcomes of conventional axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) over axillary sampling (AS) with radiotherapy (RT) in patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: In this retrospective study, we included female patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and HER2 type breast cancer who underwent breast and axillary surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy between May 2011 to December 2016. A total of 89 patients’ medical records were eligible for analysis. We defined AS as removal of at least four axillary lymph nodes located near the sentinel lymph nodes without full exposure of the axillary vein, long thoracic nerve, and thoracodorsal nerve. Results: The median follow-up period was 47.00 months. The disease-free survival was 69.66 months in the AS with RT group and 69.02 months in the ALND group (p=0.280). The invasive disease-free survival was 75.16 months in the AS with RT group and 78.44 months in the ALND group (p=0.218). Conclusion AS with radiotherapy might be a feasible surgical option in patients with TNBC and HER2 type breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Azacitidine ; Bone Marrow Examination ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Cyclophosphamide ; DNA Methylation ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Paclitaxel ; Radiotherapy ; Thrombocytopenia

PURPOSE: To determine the necessity of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) and which regions would be at risk for recurrence, we evaluated local and regional recurrence in breast cancer patients with 1–3 positive nodes and a tumor size of <5 cm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data of 133 female breast cancer patients with 1–3 positive nodes, and a tumor size of <5 cm who were treated with mastectomy followed by adjuvant systemic therapy between 2007 and 2016. The median follow-up period was 57 months (range, 12 to 115 months). Most patients (82.7%) were treated with axillary lymph node dissection. Adjuvant chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and trastuzumab therapy were administered to 124 patients (93.2%), 112 (84.2%), and 33 (24.8%), respectively. The most common chemotherapy regimen was anthracycline and cyclophosphamide followed by taxane (71.4%). RESULTS: Three patients (2.3%), 8 (6.0%), and 12 (9.0%) experienced local, regional, and distant failures, respectively. The 5-year cumulative risk of local recurrence, regional recurrence, distant metastasis, and disease-free survival was 3.1%, 8.0%, 11.7%, and 83.4%, respectively. There were no statistically significant clinicopathologic factors associated with local recurrence. Lymphovascular invasion (univariate p = 0.015 and multivariate p = 0.054) was associated with an increased risk of regional recurrence. CONCLUSION: Our study showed a very low local recurrence in patients with 1–3 positive nodes and tumor size of <5 cm who were treated with mastectomy and modern adjuvant systemic treatment. The PMRT volume need to be tailored for each patient’s given risk for local and regional recurrence, and possible radiation-related toxicities.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cyclophosphamide ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Mastectomy ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Trastuzumab

PURPOSE: Post-operative pulmonary function is an important prognostic factor for lung transplantation. The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting recovery of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) at the first year after lung transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of lung transplantation patients between October 2012 and June 2016. Patients who survived for longer than one year and who underwent pulmonary function test at the first year of lung transplantation were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they recovered to a normal range of FEV1 (FEV1 ≥80% of predicted value vs. < 80%). We compared the two groups and analyzed factors associated with lung function recovery. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients were enrolled in this study: 28 patients (48%) recovered to a FEV1 ≥80% of the predicted value, whereas 30 patients (52%) did not. Younger recipients [odds ratio (OR), 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87–0.98; p=0.010], longer duration of mechanical ventilator use after surgery (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.03–1.26; p=0.015), and high-grade primary graft dysfunction (OR, 8.08; 95% CI, 1.67–39.18; p=0.009) were identified as independent risk factors associated with a lack of full recovery of lung function at 1 year after lung transplantation. CONCLUSION: Immediate postoperative status may be associated with recovery of lung function after lung transplantation.
Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Lung Transplantation* ; Lung* ; Medical Records ; Primary Graft Dysfunction ; Recovery of Function* ; Reference Values ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Ventilators, Mechanical

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of lymph node (LN) ratio (LNR) in patients with breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective analysis is based on the data of 814 patientswith stage II/III breast cancer treated with four cycles of doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide followed by four cycles of docetaxel before surgery. We evaluated the clinical significance of LNR (3 categories: low 0-0.20 vs. intermediate 0.21-0.65 vs. high 0.66-1.00) using a Cox proportional regression model. RESULTS: A total of 799 patients underwent breast surgery. Pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0/isN0) was achieved in 129 patients (16.1%) (hormone receptor [HR] +/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2] –, 34/373 [9.1%]; HER2+, 45/210 [21.4%]; triple negative breast cancer, 50/216 [23.1%]). The mean numbers of involved LN and retrieved LN were 2.70 (range, 0 to 42) and 13.98 (range, 1 to 64), respectively. The mean LNR was 0.17 (low, 574 [71.8%]; intermediate, 170 [21.3%]; high, 55 [6.9%]). In univariate analysis, LNR showed significant association with a worse relapse-free survival (3-year relapse-free survival rate 84.8% in low vs. 66.2% in intermediate vs. 54.3% in high; p < 0.001, log-rank test). In multivariate analysis, LNR did not show significant association with recurrence after adjusting for other clinical factors (age, histologic grade, subtype, ypT stage, ypN stage, lymphatic or vascular invasion, and pCR). In subgroup analysis, the LNR system had good prognostic value in HR+/HER2–subtype. CONCLUSION: LNR is not superior to ypN stage in predicting clinical outcome of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, the prognostic value of the LNR system in HR+/HER2–patients is notable and worthy of further investigation.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cohort Studies* ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Prognosis ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies* ; Survival Rate ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms

We report a case of tacrolimus-induced transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathies (TA-TMA) after lung transplantation. A 71-year-old man underwent lung transplantation secondary to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. After 4 months, he presented with abdominal discomfort and dyspnea, and was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia. Tacrolimus was considered the cause of the TMA. Tacrolimus was stopped and several sessions of plasma exchange were performed immediately after diagnosis of TA-TMA. However, his platelet count did not normalize, gastrointestinal bleeding was recurrent, and severe pneumonia developed, following which he died. TA-TMA are rare but severe, life-threatening complications in lung transplant recipients. Therefore, the possibility of TA-TMA should be considered in posttransplant recipients.
Aged ; Anemia, Hemolytic ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Lung Transplantation* ; Lung* ; Plasma Exchange ; Platelet Count ; Pneumonia ; Tacrolimus ; Thrombocytopenia ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies* ; Transplant Recipients

PURPOSE: Anastomotic airway complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation (LTx). In this study, the authors identified types and clinical outcomes of airway complications after LTx. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All bronchial anastomotic complications were analyzed in a total of 94 LTx cases involving 90 recipients who underwent surgery between July 2006 and May 2014. Fifteen LTx cases (14 recipients) with incomplete medical records for fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FBS) and three cases underwent heart-lung transplantation (HLT) were excluded. Postoperative FBS at 24-48 hours, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, and then yearly after the transplantation were performed. RESULTS: A total of 76 LTx cases (75 recipients) were analyzed. The mean age of the recipients was 49.55 years (range, 18-71 years), and 38 (49.4%) were male. Twenty-one out of 76 cases (27.6%) experienced early anastomotic complications, and 12 (15.8%) presented late anastomotic complications. The early anastomotic airway complications presented in various forms: stenosis, 1 case; narrowing, 1; necrosis & dehiscence, 3; fistula, 4; granulation, 10; and infection, 2. Late complications almost entirely presented in the form of bronchial stenosis; five recipients showed stenosis at the anastomosis site, and one of them showed improvement after ballooning. Five others were found to have stenosis at the bronchus intermedius, distal to the anastomosis site. Three of these patients showed improvement after ballooning or bronchoplasty. CONCLUSION: By serial surveillance via FBS after LTx, we detected anastomotic airway complications in 42.9% of cases, which were successfully managed with improved clinical outcomes.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Analysis of Variance ; Anastomosis, Surgical/*adverse effects/methods ; Bronchi/blood supply/physiopathology/*surgery ; Bronchial Diseases/epidemiology/*etiology/physiopathology ; Bronchoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; *Lung Transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology/*etiology/physiopathology ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome