Bilateral synchronous breast cancer and HER-2/neu overexpression

Bilateral breast cancer in China: A 10-year single-center retrospective study (2006-2016)

Bilateral breast cancer (BBC) is an uncommon subset of breast cancer (BC), and it may present as synchronous bilateral breast cancer (sBBC) or metachronous bilateral breast cancer (mBBC). Through this study, we aimed to evaluate the proportion of BBC in BC and compare the clinicopathological characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of sBBC and mBBC at an academic cancer center in China. Patients with BC consecutively treated between 2006 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with BBC were included. In total, 3924 patients with BC were analyzed and 127 patients with BBC (28 sBBC, 99 mBBC) with a median follow-up of 98 months were identified. The proportion of BBC was 3.2% (0.7%, sBBC; 2.5%, mBBC). The median age at the first diagnosis of mBBC was significantly younger than that at the first diagnosis of sBBC (p = 0.027). Patients diagnosed as having sBBC were more likely to have a positive family history (p = 0.047). The first tumors of mBBC were detected at a significantly earlier tumor stage compared with those of sBBC (p = 0.028). The concordance rates of histopathologic type in the first and second tumors were 60.7% and 58.0% in sBBC and mBBC, respectively. sBBC had a significantly poorer disease-free survival than mBBC did (p = 0.001). BBC is a rare disease affecting the Chinese population. sBBC is associated with a greater prevalence of a family history of breast cancer and poorer prognosis, compared with mBBC.

Simultaneous Bilateral Breast Carcinomas: A Category with Frequent Coexpression of HER-2 and ER-α, High Ki-67 and bcl-2, and Low p53

The aim of this study was to evaluate clinicopathological characteristics and immunophenotypes of simultaneous bilateral adenocarcinomas of the breast and their axillary metastases. Immunohistochemical analysis and in situ hybridization were performed using formalin-fixed/paraffin-embedded tissues. In total, 15 primary and 9 metastatic tumors from 8 patients were evaluated. The expression of estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α), progesterone receptor (PR), Ki 67, p53, bcl-2, and bax were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Her2 gene amplification was evaluated by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH). Four patients were younger that 40 years of age (mean 47 years). Six patients had pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in 1 breast. Four of these had invasive ductal carcinoma in the contralateral breast. One patient had atypical medullary carcinoma in both breasts and 1 patient had atypical medullary carcinoma in 1 breast and pleomorphic lobular carcinoma in the other. The phenotype of the primary tumors and corresponding metastatic tumors was similar for the expression of ER-α (p=0.001), PR (p=0.03), and HER-2 (p=0.018). While strong coexpression of HER-2 and ER-α is exceptional in hereditary breast carcinoma and sporadic breast carcinoma, 6/8 (75%) patients in this study had tumors with strong coexpression of HER-2 and ER-α. P53 protein expression was found in only 2/15 (13%) primary tumors, which is in contrast to BRCA1-related hereditary bilateral breast carcinomas, which often express p53 protein. Most of the patients presented with axillary metastases and had very aggressive course. Characteristically, the tumors showed high levels of expression of ER-α and Her2 amplification, were bcl-2 positive, and had high Ki-67 fraction. However, in patients with atypical medullary carcinoma there was no expression of ER-α or amplification of Her-2.

Synchronous Bilateral Breast Cancers

BACKGROUND

Bilateral breast cancer (BBC) is not an uncommon entity in contemporary breast clinics. Improved life expectancy after breast cancer treatment and routine use of contra-lateral breast mammography has led to increased incidence of BBC. Our study objective was to define the epidemiological and tumour characteristics of BBC in India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 1251 breast cancer patients were treated during the period January 2007 to March 2015 and 30 patients were found to have BBC who constituted the study population (60 tumour samples). Synchronous bilateral breast cancers (SBC) was defined as two tumours diagnosed within an interval of 6 months and a second cancer diagnosed after 6 months was labelled as metachronous breast cancer (MBC). Analyses of patient and tumour characteristics were done in this prospective data base of BBC patients.

RESULTS

Median patient age was 66 years (range 39-85). Majority of the patients had SBC (n=28) and in 12 patients the second tumour was clinically occult and detected only by mammography of the contra-lateral breast. The second tumour was found at lower tumour size compared to the first in 73% of cases and was negative for axillary metastasis in 80% of cases (24/30). Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was the commonest histological type (n=51) and majority of the tumours were ER/PR positive (50/60). Her2 was overexpressed in 13 tumours (21%). Over 70% (22/30) of patients had similar histology in both breasts and amongst them grade concordance was present in about 69% (15/22) of patients. Concordance rates of ER, PR and Her2 statuses were 83%, 80% and 90% respectively. Bilateral mastectomy was the commonest surgery performed in 80% of the patients followed by bilateral breast conservation in 13%. At the end of study period, 26 patients were alive and disease free. Median survival was 29 months (range 3-86 months).

CONCLUSION

In most patients with BBC, the second tumour is identified at an early stage than index tumours supporting the importance of contralateral breast cancer screening at the time of primary diagnosis and during follow-up. BBC occurs more frequently in old age group and majority of these tumours are estrogen dependent. There is good pathological concordance between the index tumour and the contralateral breast cancer.

Bilateral breast cancer following augmentation mammaplasty with polyacrylamide hydrogel injection: A case report

Breast cancer occurring following injection with polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAMG) for augmentation mammaplasty is rare. The present study reports the case of a 43-year-old female presenting with bilateral breast cancer 10 years after augmentation mammaplasty with PAMG injection and no family history of breast cancer. A 5.5×6.0-cm mass in the right breast with multiple intumescent axillary lymph nodes was revealed and a palpable mass of ~1.0 cm was identified in the outer upper quadrant of the left breast. Multiple smaller nodules were observed in the pulmonary field. Pathological examination revealed invasive lobular grade II carcinoma in both breasts with ER(+++), PR(+++), C-erbB2(-), Top-2(+), in the right breast and ER(++), PR(++), c-erb-B2(-), Top-2(+) in the left. Preoperative chemotherapy, modified radical bilateral mastectomy with axillary clearance, postoperative chemotherapy, and an oophorectomy were conducted, followed by treatment with Arimedex® until the present date A number of valuable insights can be garnered from this case. First, close follow-up is required for female patients who receive an injection of PAMG for augmentation mammaplasty in order to achieve an early diagnosis and to intervene in any incidences of breast cancer. Second, the differential diagnosis of dual primary carcinoma versus metastatic breast cancer is important and may be aided by the use of molecular technology. Third, it remains difficult to determine gene expression values for the prediction of chemotherapy sensitivity. Thus, discrimination between primary and secondary carcinomas is the principle barrier for identifying an appropriate treatment strategy when a patient is diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer.

Bilateral breast cancers

An increasingly large proportion of women with unilateral breast cancer are treated with bilateral mastectomy. The rationale behind bilateral surgery is to prevent a second primary breast cancer and thereby to avoid the resultant therapy and eliminate the risk of death from contralateral breast cancer. Bilateral mastectomy has been proposed to benefit women at high risk of contralateral cancer, such as carriers of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, but for women without such mutations, the decision to remove the contralateral breast is controversial. It is important to evaluate the risk of contralateral breast cancer on an individual basis, and to tailor surgical treatment accordingly. On average, the annual risk of contralateral breast cancer is approximately 0.5%, but increases to 3% in carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Risk factors for contralateral breast cancer include a young age at first diagnosis of breast cancer and a family history of breast cancer. Contralateral mastectomy has not been proven to reduce mortality from breast cancer, but the benefit of such surgery is not expected to become apparent until the second decade after treatment. An alternative to contralateral mastectomy is adjuvant hormonal therapy (such as tamoxifen), but the extent of risk reduction is smaller (approximately 50%) compared to 95% or more for contralateral mastectomy. This Review focuses on the risk factors for contralateral breast cancer, and discusses the evidence that bilateral mastectomy might reduce mortality in patients with unilateral breast cancer.

Are bilateral breast cancers different from breast cancers coexisting with ovarian cancer? An immunohistochemical analysis aimed at intrinsic tumor phenotype

RATIONALE

Bilateral breast cancers (BBC) and breast cancers coexisting with ovarian cancer (BOCS) are associated with genetic predisposition more frequently than sporadic cases. We compared the phenotypes of these tumors to better understand their pathomechanisms and aid the guiding of their clinical management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Tumor morphology and expression of ER, PgR, HER2, Ki67, CK5/6, E-cadherin, vimentin and EGFR were assessed in a tissue microarray containing cores from 174 BBC, 23 BOCS and 2 BBC + BOCS.

RESULTS

BOCS tumors were characterized by higher incidence of EGFR expression, HER2 negativity and lower incidence of intraductal component. HER2-positive phenotypes were marginally more frequent in the BBC group and triple negative tumors - in BOCS.

CONCLUSION

Breast cancers from BOCS patients are characterized by more aggressive phenotype, most probably related to their more frequent association with BRCA1 mutation.

The prognosis of synchronous and metachronous bilateral breast cancer in Chinese patients

This study was undertaken to determine the differences in the clinicopathology and survival between synchronous bilateral breast cancer (sBBC) and metachronous bilateral breast cancer (mBBC). Additionally, we analyzed the risk factors for single tumors to develop as sBBC or mBBC. Of the 190 bilateral breast cancer (BBC) cases, 84 cases were sBBC and 106 were mBBC. We defined sBBC as two tumors that developed within 12 months, while mBBC was defined as two tumors that developed over more than 12 months. The peak age of onset of the first mBBC tumors was significantly younger than that of sBBC tumors (p = 0.001). There was a higher concordance rate of ER/ER positivity and PR/PR positivity in the first and second tumors of sBBC than mBBC. The two sBBC breast cancers had relatively similar hormone conditions because of the low rate of ER and PR transformation from positive to negative or vice versa. We determined that patients who presented with extracapsular extension (p = 0.008) and ER positivity (p = 0.001) tend to have synchronous cancers, while patients with 3+ HER2 were more likely to develop metachronous tumors. The prognosis for mBBC was better than that for sBBC when the survival time of mBBC was measured from the initial observation of the first tumors.

Diagnostic and prognostic utility of molecular markers in synchronous bilateral breast carcinoma

Histologic criteria have a limited role in determining whether the synchronous bilateral breast carcinomas represent two primaries or a metastasis to the contralateral breast. We studied the molecular analysis of synchronous bilateral breast carcinoma and whether they are originating from a single or different clone. We examined 17 patients with breast carcinoma, including 12 patients with synchronous bilateral carcinomas and control group of 5 infiltrating ductal carcinomas with regional lymph node metastases. Mutations were quantitatively determined to detect loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and microsatellite size alterations for a broad panel of 15 markers, involving 10 chromosomes using polymerase chain reaction. The carcinomas were classified as de novo or metastasis based on three levels of concordance: (1) marker-affected tumors were considered concordant if 50% or more of the same markers were mutated, (2) same gene copy affected, and (3) temporal sequence of mutation acquisition. In synchronous bilateral breast carcinoma patients, molecular analysis showed discordant mutations in all cases, supporting the diagnosis of de novo bilateral primary breast carcinomas. In patients with lymph node metastases, the primary breast carcinoma and metastases shared the same mutations, revealing a metastatic lesion. In conclusion, the application of molecular technology may play an important role for the differential diagnosis of dual primary carcinomas vs a metastatic breast cancer to contralateral breast. In this study, synchronous bilateral breast cancers represent two independent primaries rather than metastatic events.

Molecular pathogenesis of bilateral breast cancer

Bilateral breast cancer (biBC) offers intriguing possibilities for molecular genetic investigations, however it is disproportionally less studied than its unilateral counterpart. By now, genetic research has succeeded to resolve at least two important aspects of biBC pathogenesis. First, it has been confirmed, that the vast majority if not all biBC arise due to clonally independent events but not due to contralateral metastatic spread. Second, unselected biBC cases have been shown to have a modest prevalence of BRCA germ-line mutations (approximately 5%), although a considerable frequency of BRCA defects (up to 20%) has been observed in early-onset and/or familial forms of the disease. Other data related to biBC appear to be at suggestive stage. Recent reports demonstrate, that the tumors forming biBC pair may show similarities of their molecular portraits, especially if they develop synchronously. This observations imply that the host factors may determine not only the level of breast cancer susceptibility, but also the molecular variant of the disease development. Apart from this, biBC may serve as a very demonstrative case group in the studies of breast cancer predisposing low-penetrance gene polymorphisms, because it is more likely to accumulate unfavorable allele combinations than the unilateral patients. The utility of this approach has been already exemplified by several scientific publications. Further research on the biBC molecular pathogenesis may significantly contribute to the general understanding of the process of malignant transformation.