Melanin-Based Nanoparticles for Lymph Node Tattooing: Experimental, Histopathological and Ultrastructural Study

In breast cancer, Targeted Axillary Dissection (TAD) allows for the selective excision of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) during primary tumor surgery. TAD consists of the resection of labelled SLNs prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Numerous clinical and preclinical studies have explored the use of carbon-based colloids for SLN tattooing prior to NACT. However, carbon vectors show varying degrees of inflammatory reactions and, in about one fifth of cases, carbon particles migrate via the lymphatic pathway to other nodes, causing the SLN to mismatch the tattooed node. To overcome these limitations, in this study, we explored the use of melanin as a staining endogenous pigment. We synthesized and characterized melanin-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (Mel-NPs) and used them to tattoo lymph nodes in pig animal models given the similarity in the size of the human and pig nodes. Mel-NPs tattooed lymph nodes showed high identification rates, reaching 83.3% positive identification 16 weeks after tattooing. We did not observe any reduction in the identification as time increased, implying that the colloid is stable in the lymph node tissue. In addition, we performed histological and ultrastructural studies to characterize the biological behavior of the tag. We observed foreign-body-like granulomatous inflammatory responses associated with Mel-NPs, characterized by the formation of multinucleated giant cells. In addition, electron microscopy studies showed that uptake is mainly performed by macrophages, and that macrophages undergo cellular damage associated with particle uptake.

Targeted axillary dissection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for highly selective patients with initial cN1 breast cancer: A single-center prospective trial

BACKGROUND

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is gradually accepted as the standard of care in breast cancer patients with down-staged axillary disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). However, it is still difficult to precisely define pre-NAC clinical node-positive (cN1) and post-NAC clinical node-negative (ycN0). This prospective single-center trial was designed to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of standard targeted axillary dissection (TAD) after NAC in highly selective pre-NAC cN1 patients (not considering ultrasound-based axillary ycN staging).

METHODS

This prospective trial included patients with initial pre-NAC cT1-3N1M0 invasive breast cancer but with a rigorous definition of cN1 from the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University. When NAC was effective (including complete and partial responses) and preoperative axillary palpation was negative, preoperative ultrasound-based axillary staging was not considered, and all patients underwent TAD followed by axillary lymph node (LN) dissection. The detection rate (DR) and false-negative rate (FNR) of TAD were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 82 patients were included, and 77 of them were eligible for data analysis. The DR for TAD was 94.8% (73/77). There were 26 patients with one abnormal LN at the time of diagnosis based on ultrasound, 45 patients with two, and 2 patients with three. One patient had one TAD LN, four patients had two TAD LNs, and 68 patients had three or more TAD LNs. Preoperative axillary palpation yielded negative results for all 73 patients who successfully underwent TAD. Preoperative ultrasound-based ycN0 and ycN+ conditions were detected for 52 and 21 cases, respectively. The FNR was 7.4% (2/27) for standard TAD (≥3 SLNs), which was lower than that of all successful TAD (≥1 SLN; 10.0%, 3/30).

CONCLUSIONS

In rigorously defined pre-NAC cN1 breast cancer patients, standard TAD is feasible for those with negative axillary palpation after NAC, and FNR is also less than 10%.

REGISTRATION

chictr.org.cn , ChiCTR2100049093.

Targeted axillary dissection: worldwide variations in clinical practice

PURPOSE

Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) for the axillary staging of clinically node-positive (cN +) breast cancer patients converting to clinically node negative post neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), has gained popularity due to its minimal false negative rate and low arm morbidity. The aim of this study is to shed more light on the variation in the clinical practice globally in terms of indications and perceived limitations of TAD.

METHODS

A panel of expert breast surgeons constructed a structured questionnaire comprising of 18 questions and asked surgeons worldwide for their opinions and routine practice on TAD. The questionnaire was electronically distributed and answers were collected between May 1st and August 1st 2022.

RESULTS

Responses included 137 entries from 36 countries. Of them, 73.7% consider TAD for cN + patients planned to receive NAC. Among them, the greatest number of respondents (45%) perform the procedure for tumours up to T3, whereas 27% regardless of T-stage. The majority (42%) perform TAD on patients with 1-3 positive nodes and only 30% consider TAD when matted nodes are present. HER2 positive and Triple Negative subtypes are more likely to undergo TAD than Luminal A and B (86%, 79.1%, 39.5%, and 62.8%, respectively). Maximum acceptable lymph node burden is median 3 nodes for any subtype with a tendency to accept more positive nodes for Triple Negative.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates the differences in current practice regarding TAD as well as the fact that the biology of the tumour heavily affects the method of axillary staging.

Controversies in axillary management of patients with breast cancer - updates for 2024

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

For some time now, the question of de-escalation in axillary staging in breast cancer patients has been raised. The aim is to improve the patients' quality of life and reduce morbidity by optimizing surgical strategies with a high level of oncological safety. This review offers a current overview of published evidence and clinical practice, aiming to guide the surgical community as they reassess and reshape their practices.

RECENT FINDINGS

Years after introducing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in clinically node negative breast cancer patients several guidelines suggest completely omitting SLNB in older patients with low-risk tumors. It is worth noting that for patients with a metastatic sentinel lymph node in the upfront surgery setting, a de-escalation of axillary surgery may in fact lead to an escalation of radiation therapy. Currently, there is limited evidence on the axillary surgical approach for patients with initially positive node status achieving complete axillary response (ycN0), resulting in heterogenous guideline recommendations.

SUMMARY

Innovative trials are contributing to a growing evidence on de-escalation of axillary surgery with the aim of reducing arm morbidity and improving long-term health-related quality of life.

Impact of Imaging-Guided Localization on Performance of Tailored Axillary Surgery in Patients with Clinically Node-Positive Breast Cancer: Prospective Cohort Study Within TAXIS (OPBC-03, SAKK 23/16, IBCSG 57-18, ABCSG-53, GBG 101)

BACKGROUND

Tailored axillary surgery (TAS) is a novel surgical concept for clinical node-positive breast cancer. It consists of the removal of the sentinel lymph nodes (LNs), as well as palpably suspicious nodes. The TAS technique can be utilized in both the upfront and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) setting. This study assessed whether/how imaging-guided localization (IGL) influenced TAS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This was a prospective observational cohort study preplanned in the randomized phase-III OPBC-03/TAXIS trial. IGL was performed at the surgeon's discretion for targeted removal of LNs during TAS. Immediate back-up axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) followed TAS according to TAXIS randomization.

RESULTS

Five-hundred patients were included from 44 breast centers in six countries, 151 (30.2%) of whom underwent NACT. IGL was performed in 84.4% of all patients, with significant variation by country (77.6-100%, p < 0.001). No difference in the median number of removed (5 vs. 4, p = 0.3) and positive (2 vs. 2, p = 0.6) LNs by use of IGL was noted. The number of LNs removed during TAS with IGL remained stable over time (p = 0.8), but decreased significantly without IGL, from six (IQR 4-6) in 2019 to four (IQR 3-4) in 2022 (p = 0.015). An ALND was performed in 249 patients, removing another 12 (IQR 9-17) LNs, in which a median number of 1 (IQR 0-4) was positive. There was no significant difference in residual nodal disease after TAS with or without IGL (68.0% vs. 57.6%, p = 0.2).

CONCLUSIONS

IGL did not significantly change either the performance of TAS or the volume of residual nodal tumor burden.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03513614.

Locoregional Therapy: From Mastectomy to Reconstruction, Targeted Surgery, and Ultra-Hypofractionated Radiotherapy

Background

The past 3 decades have seen an unprecedented shift toward treatment de-escalation in surgical therapy of breast cancer.

Summary

Radical mastectomy has been replaced by breast-conserving and oncoplastic approaches in most patients, and full axillary lymph node dissection by less radical staging procedures, such as sentinel lymph node biopsy and targeted axillary dissection. Further, attempts have been made to spare healthy tissue while increasing the probability of removing the tumor with clear margins, thus improving cosmetic results and minimizing the risk of local recurrence. In this context, modern probe-guided localization techniques have been introduced to guide surgical excision. This progress was accompanied by the development of targeted systemic therapies. At the same time, radiotherapy for breast cancer has undergone significant changes. The use of hypofractionation has decreased the typical length of a treatment course from 5-6 weeks to 1-3 weeks. Partial breast irradiation is now a valid option for de-escalation in patients with low-risk features. Axillary radiotherapy achieves similar recurrence rates and decreases the risk of lymphedema in patients with limited sentinel node involvement.

Key Messages

Taken together, these advances are important steps toward individualization of locoregional management strategies. This highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for de-escalation of locoregional therapies.

The Role of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Breast Cancer Patients Who Become Clinically Node-Negative Following Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Literature Review

BACKGROUND

In clinically node-positive (cN+) breast cancer (BC) patients who become clinically node-negative (cN0) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) after lymphatic mapping with lymphoscintigraphy is not widely accepted; therefore, it has become a topic of international debate.

OBJECTIVE

Our literature review aims to evaluate the current use of this surgical practice in a clinical setting and focuses on several studies published in the last six years which have contributed to the assessment of the feasibility and accuracy of this practice, highlighting its importance and oncological safety. We have considered the advantages and disadvantages of this technique compared to other suggested methods and strategies. We also evaluated the role of local irradiation therapy after SLNB and state-of-the-art SLN mapping in patients subjected to NACT.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of PubMed and Cochrane was conducted. All studies published in English from 2018 to August 2023 were evaluated.

RESULTS

Breast units are moving towards a de-escalation of axillary surgery, even in the NACT setting. The effects of these procedures on local irradiation are not very clear. Several studies have evaluated the oncological outcome of SLNB procedures. However, none of the alternative techniques proposed to lower the false negative rate (FNR) of SLNB are significant in terms of prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these results, we can state that lymphatic mapping with SLNB in cN+ BC patients who become clinically node-negative (ycN0) following NACT is a safe procedure, with a good prognosis and low axillary failure rates.

Safety of Targeted Axillary Dissection After Neoadjuvant Therapy in Patients With Node-Positive Breast Cancer

Importance

The increasing use of neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) has led to substantial pathological complete response rates in patients with initially node-positive, early breast cancer, thereby questioning the need for axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) is feasible for axillary staging; however, data on oncological safety are scarce.

Objective

To assess 3-year clinical outcomes in patients with node-positive breast cancer who underwent TAD alone or TAD with ALND.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The SenTa study is a prospective registry study and was conducted between January 2017 and October 2018. The registry includes 50 study centers in Germany. Patients with clinically node-positive breast cancer underwent clipping of the most suspicious lymph node (LN) before NST. After NST, the marked LNs and sentinel LNs were excised (TAD) followed by ALND according to the clinician's choice. Patients who did not undergo TAD were excluded. Data analysis was performed in April 2022 after 43 months of follow-up.

Exposure

TAD alone vs TAD with ALND.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Three-year clinical outcomes were evaluated.

Results

Of 199 female patients, the median (IQR) age was 52 (45-60) years. A total of 182 patients (91.5%) had 1 to 3 suspicious LNs; 119 received TAD alone and 80 received TAD with ALND. Unadjusted invasive disease-free survival was 82.4% (95% CI, 71.5-89.4) in the TAD with ALND group and 91.2% (95% CI, 84.2-95.1) in the TAD alone group (P = .04); axillary recurrence rates were 1.4% (95% CI, 0-54.8) and 1.8% (95% CI, 0-36.4), respectively (P = .56). Adjusted multivariate Cox regression indicated that TAD alone was not associated with an increased risk of recurrence (hazard ratio [HR], 0.83; 95% CI, 0.34-2.05; P = .69) or death (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.31-3.70; P = .91). Similar results were obtained for 152 patients with clinically node-negative breast cancer after NST (invasive disease-free survival: HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 0.27-5.87; P = .77; overall survival: HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.15-3.83; P = .74).

Conclusions and Relevance

These results suggest that TAD alone in patients with mostly good clinical response to NST and at least 3 TAD LNs may confer survival outcomes and recurrence rates similar to TAD with ALND.

Axillary staging in node-positive breast cancer converting to node negativity through neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Current evidence and perspectives

PURPOSE

Over the recent years, axillary staging of initially node-positive breast cancer patients converting to clinical node negativity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy has seen rapid changes. This narrative review aims to give a contemporary overview over published evidence and clinical practice, and thus provide some guidance to the surgical community in the process of re-evaluating and re-shaping surgical practice.

METHODS

The search strategy aimed at finding relevant studies. Only articles in English were considered.

RESULTS

The introduction of modern techniques offer more precise staging surgery and thus hopefully reduced arm morbidity. Clinical practice has however diverged both within countries and internationally. While some countries have adapted de-escalated axillary staging techniques such as targeted axillary dissection, targeted lymph node biopsy or sentinel lymph node biopsy, others continue to recommend a full axillary lymph node dissection. With the implementation of new techniques, many questions arise, regarding aspects of oncological safety, technical performance, budget and practicality, patient selection and indications for different levels of axillary staging procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a growing body of evidence on de-escalation of axillary surgery in the setting of cN+ → ycN0 breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, standards differ between countries and future studies are necessary to fully assess the optimal strategy for these patients.

Image-Guided Localization Techniques for Metastatic Axillary Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer; What Radiologists Should Know

Targeted axillary dissection (TAD) is an axillary staging technique after NACT that involves the removal of biopsy-proven metastatic lymph nodes in addition to sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). This technique avoids the morbidity of traditional axillary lymph node dissection and has shown a lower false-negative rate than SLNB alone. Therefore, marking positive axillary lymph nodes before NACT is critical in order to locate and remove them in the subsequent surgery. Current localization methods include clip placement with intraoperative ultrasound, carbon-suspension liquids, localization wires, radioactive tracer-based localizers, magnetic seeds, radar reflectors, and radiofrequency identification devices. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the management of axillary lymph nodes based on current guidelines and explain the features of axillary lymph node markers, with relative advantages and disadvantages.

Tailored axillary surgery - A novel concept for clinically node positive breast cancer

Axillary surgery in patients with breast cancer has been a history of de-escalation; however, surgery for clinically node-positive breast cancer remained at the dogmatic level of axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). In these patients, currently the only way to avoid ALND is neoadjuvant systemic treatment (NST) with nodal pathologic complete response (pCR) as diagnosed by selective lymph node removal. However, pCR rates are highly dependent on tumor biology, with luminal tumors being most present yet showing the lowest pCR rates. Therefore, the TAXIS trial is investigating whether in clinically node-positive patients, either with residual disease after NST or in the upfront surgical setting, ALND can be safely omitted. All patients undergo tailored axillary surgery (TAS), which includes removal of the biopsied and clipped node, the sentinel lymph nodes as well as all palpably suspicious nodes, turning a clinically positive axilla into a clinically negative. Feasibility of TAS was recently confirmed in the first pre-specified TAXIS substudy. TAS is followed by axillary radiotherapy to treat any remaining nodal disease. Disease-free survival is the primary endpoint of this non-inferiority trial, and morbidity as well as quality of life are the main secondary endpoints, with ALND being known for having a relevant negative impact on both. Currently, 663 of 1500 patients were randomized; accrual completion is projected for 2025. The TAXIS trial stands out in including clinically node-positive patients in both the neoadjuvant and upfront surgery setting, thereby investigating surgical de-escalation at the far-end of the risk spectrum of patients with breast cancer.

Localization Techniques for Non-Palpable Breast Lesions: Current Status, Knowledge Gaps, and Rationale for the MELODY Study (EUBREAST-4/iBRA-NET, NCT 05559411)

BACKGROUND

Surgical excision of a non-palpable breast lesion requires a localization step. Among available techniques, wire-guided localization (WGL) is most commonly used. Other techniques (radioactive, magnetic, radar or radiofrequency-based, and intraoperative ultrasound) have been developed in the last two decades with the aim of improving outcomes and logistics.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review on localization techniques for non-palpable breast cancer.

RESULTS

For most techniques, oncological outcomes such as lesion identification and clear margin rate seem either comparable with or better than for WGL, but evidence is limited to small cohort studies for some of the devices. Intraoperative ultrasound is associated with significantly higher negative margin rates in meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Radioactive techniques were studied in several RCTs and are non-inferior to WGL. Smaller studies show higher patient preference towards wire-free localization, but little is known about surgeons' and radiologists' attitudes towards these techniques.

CONCLUSIONS

Large studies with an additional focus on patient, surgeon, and radiologist preference are necessary. This review aims to present the rationale for the MELODY (NCT05559411) study and to enable standardization of outcome measures for future studies.

Estimating the Benefit of Preoperative Systemic Therapy to Reduce the Extent of Breast Cancer Surgery: Current Standard and Future Directions

Once reserved for locally advanced tumors which were deemed inoperable at presentation, preoperative systemic therapy (PST) is nowadays increasingly used to treat early breast cancer. PST allows for in vivo assessment of tumor response, for tailoring of adjuvant systemic therapy and for de-escalation of breast and the axillary surgery. Increased rates of pathological complete response together with more accurate response assessment and surgical planning have led to a significant reduction in surgical morbidity. While surgical assessment remains the standard of care, ongoing studies are evaluating whether surgery can be omitted in patients who achieve a complete pathological response. In this chapter, I will review the impact of PST on surgical de-escalation and the data supporting the safety of this approach.

Axillary Staging after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Initially Node-Positive Breast Carcinoma in Germany: Initial Data from the AXSANA study

Introduction To date, the optimal axillary staging procedure for initially node-positive breast carcinoma patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) has been unclear. The aim of the AXSANA study is to prospectively compare different surgical staging techniques with respect to the oncological outcome and quality of life for the patients. Little is known about current clinical practice in Germany. Material and Methods In this paper we analyzed data from patients enrolled in the AXSANA study at German study sites from June 2020 to March 2022. Results During the period under investigation, 1135 patients were recruited at 143 study sites. More than three suspicious lymph nodes were initially found in 22% of patients. The target lymph node (TLN) was marked in 64% of cases. This was done with clips/coils in 83% of patients, with magnetic seeds or carbon suspension in 8% each, and with a radar marker in 1% of patients. After NACT, targeted axillary dissection (TAD) or axillary lymphadenectomy (ALND) were each planned in 48% of patients, and sentinel lymph node biopsy alone (SLNB) in 2%. Clinically, the nodal status after NACT was found to be unremarkable in 65% of cases. Histological lymph node status was correctly assessed by palpation in 65% of patients and by sonography in 69% of patients. Conclusion At the German AXSANA study sites, TAD and ALND are currently used as the most common surgical staging procedures after NACT in initially node-positive breast cancer patients. The TLN is marked with various markers prior to NACT. Given the inadequate accuracy of clinical assessment of axillary lymph node status after NACT, it should be questioned whether axillary dissection after NACT should be performed based on clinical assessment of nodal status alone.

Carbon tattooing of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy: A retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and accuracy of tattooing suspicious axillary lymph nodes with carbon suspension at the time of breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and the intraoperative correspondence between tattooed lymph node (TLN) and sentinel lymph node (SLN) in patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

METHODS

In this retrospective study, we analyzed consecutive BC patients who underwent NACT, between April 2019 and May 2021, at the Breast Unit of Sant'Anna Hospital in Turin, Italy. Before NACT, all suspicious biopsied lymph nodes were marked with carbon suspension. All SLNs, TLNs, and axillary nodal dissection specimens were sent for histopathological examination.

RESULTS

The study group included a total of 49 patients with BC. The overall identification rate of TLNs was 83.7% (41/49; 95%, confidence interval - CI 0.70-0.92). In patients who underwent target axillary dissection (TAD) the carbon tattooing had an intraoperative identification rate of 84.4% (27/32; 95% CI 0.67-0.95) while, in the case of axillary lymph node dissection, TLNs were detected in 82.3% (14/17; 95% CI 0.56-0.96) of patients. The correlation between TLN and SLN was 71.8% (23/32).

CONCLUSIONS

These results confirmed that tattooing axillary lymph nodes has an acceptable identification rate. We also confirmed that this procedure, in addition to SLN biopsy, improves the accuracy of surgical axillary staging.

False-negative rate in the extended prospective TATTOO trial evaluating targeted axillary dissection by carbon tattooing in clinically node-positive breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic therapy

PURPOSE

In clinically node-positive breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST), nodal metastases can be initially marked and then removed during surgical axillary staging. Marking methods vary significantly in terms of feasibility and cost. The purpose of the extended TATTOO trial was to report on the false-negative rate (FNR) of the low-cost method carbon tattooing.

METHODS

The international prospective single-arm TATTOO trial included clinically node-positive breast cancer patients planned for NST from November 2017 to January 2021. For the present analysis, patients who received both the targeted procedure with or without an additional sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy and a completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) were selected. Primary endpoint was the FNR.

RESULTS

Out of 172 included patients, 149 had undergone a completion ALND. The detection rate for the tattooed node was 94.6% (141 out of 149). SLN biopsy was attempted in 132 out of 149 patients with a detection rate of 91.7% (121 out of 132). SLN and tattooed node were identical in 58 out of 121 individuals (47.9%). The combined procedure, i.e. targeted axillary dissection (TAD) was successful in 147 of 149 cases (98.7%). Four out of 65 patients with a clinically node-negative status after NST had a negative TAD but metastases on ALND, corresponding to a FNR of 6.2%. All false-negative TAD procedures were performed in the first 2 years of the trial (2018-2019, p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

Carbon tattooing is a feasible marking method for TAD with a high detection rate and an acceptably low FNR. The TATTOO trial was preregistered as prospective trial before initiation at the University of Rostock, Germany (DRKS00013169).

Pathological Response in the Breast and Axillary Lymph Nodes after Neoadjuvant Systemic Treatment in Patients with Initially Node-Positive Breast Cancer Correlates with Disease Free Survival: An Exploratory Analysis of the GeparOcto Trial

Simple Summary

The extent of axillary surgery has been reduced in recent years to minimize side effects. However, a negative impact of reduced surgery on outcome must be avoided. We investigated for whom the extent of surgery can be safely reduced by examining early-stage breast cancer patients converting from lymph node (LN)-positive to LN-negative disease after neoadjuvant systemic treatment (NAST). Of 242 initially LN-positive patients treated within the GeparOcto trial, 54.5% were classified as LN-negative after NAST, 31.8% as LN-positive, and for 13.6% data were missing. Overall, 92.1% of patients underwent complete axillary LN dissection, with 6.6% undergoing sentinel LN dissection only. At surgery, 55.4% of patients had no signs of cancer in the LN, 45.0% had no signs of cancer in the breast (of those 8.3% had involved LN), and 41.3% had no signs of cancer at all. Patients with involved LN still had a bad prognosis. Conversion from LN-positive to LN-negative after NAST is of highest prognostic value. Surgical axillary staging after NAST is essential in these patients to offer tailored treatment.

Abstract

Background: The conversion of initially histologically confirmed axillary lymph node-positive (pN+) to ypN0 after neoadjuvant systemic treatment (NAST) is an important prognostic factor in breast cancer (BC) patients and may influence surgical de-escalation strategies. We aimed to determine pCR rates in lymph nodes (pCR-LN), the breast (pCR-B), and both (tpCR) in women who present with pN+ BC, to assess predictors for response and the impact of pCR-LN, pCR-B, and tpCR on invasive disease-free survival (iDFS). Methods: Retrospective, exploratory analysis of 242 patients with pN+ at diagnosis from the multicentric, randomized GeparOcto trial. Results: Of 242 patients with initially pN+ disease, 134 (55.4%) had a pCR-LN, and 109 (45.0%) a pCR-B. Of the 109 pCR-B patients, 9 (8.3%) patients had involved LN, and 100 (41.3%) patients had tpCR. Those with involved LN still had a bad prognosis. As expected, pCR-B and intrinsic subtypes (TNBC and HER2+) were identified as independent predictors of pCR-LN. pCR-LN (ypN0; hazard ratio 0.42; 95%, CI 0.23–0.75; p = 0.0028 for iDFS) was the strongest independent prognostic factor. Conclusions: In initially pN+ patients undergoing NAST, the conversion to ypN0 is of high prognostic value. Surgical axillary staging after NAST is still essential in these patients to offer tailored treatment.

Deep impact of superficial skin inking: acoustic analysis of underlying tissue

Abstract Background: Skin tattoos are a common decoration, but profound scientific study whether the presence of a skin tattoo alters the acoustic response from superficial tissue, and therefore from underlying tissue, was previously lacking. Any image aberrations caused by tattoo presence may have been thought negligible, yet empirically found artifacts in brightness-mode images of tattooed skin suggest otherwise. This study investigated the nature of these artifacts theoretically and experimentally in extremely simplified cases of perfectly flat and homogenous layered media and in tattooed pork.Methods: Theory was derived for computing the acoustic response from horizontally and vertically layered media containing a thin inked layer. Experiments were performed in vitro. Artificial and pork skin were tattooed, attached to phantom material, and sonicated with a 13‐6-MHz probe. The speed of sound of these materials was determined, and the perceived refraction angles was measured.Results: The measured speeds of sound of tattooed materials were higher than those of their uninked counterparts. The presence of tattoo ink was found to have increased the linear acoustic attenuation by 1 dB/cm. This value is negligible for typical tattoos of only few millimeters. The perceived critical refraction angles of adjacent materials could be detected, and their corresponding speeds of sound were quantified. These coincided with values derived from theory.Conclusion: The ratio of speeds of sound of adjacent materials was shown to create distinct highlights in brightness-mode images. The artifacts observed in in vitro and in vivo brightness-mode scans were explained from near-vertical transitions between areas of different sound speed. This is the first study correlating so-called critical refraction highlighting with speed-of-sound information. In addition, it was found that phantom material is a room-temperature acoustic alternative for experiments on live human skin. In summary, the presence of superficial tattoos has a small but quantifiable effect on the acoustic response from deeper tissues.

AGO Recommendations for the Surgical Therapy of the Axilla After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: 2021 Update

For many decades, the standard procedure to treat breast cancer included complete dissection of the axillary lymph nodes. The aim was to determine histological node status, which was then used as the basis for adjuvant therapy, and to ensure locoregional tumour control. In addition to the debate on how to optimise the therapeutic strategies of systemic treatment and radiotherapy, the current discussion focuses on improving surgical procedures to treat breast cancer. As neoadjuvant chemotherapy is becoming increasingly important, the surgical procedures used to treat breast cancer, whether they are breast surgery or axillary dissection, are changing. Based on the currently available data, carrying out SLNE prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is not recommended. In contrast, surgical axillary management after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is considered the procedure of choice for axillary staging and can range from SLNE to TAD and ALND. To reduce the rate of false negatives during surgical staging of the axilla in pN+ _CNB stage before NACT and ycN0 after NACT, targeted axillary dissection (TAD), the removal of > 2 SLNs (SLNE, no untargeted axillary sampling), immunohistochemistry to detect isolated tumour cells and micro-metastases, and marking positive lymph nodes before NACT should be the standard approach. This most recent update on surgical axillary management describes the significance of isolated tumour cells and micro-metastasis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the clinical consequences of low volume residual disease diagnosed using SLNE and TAD and provides an overview of this yearʼs AGO recommendations for surgical management of the axilla during primary surgery and in relation to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Targeted Removal of Axillary Lymph Nodes After Carbon Marking in Patients with Breast Cancer Treated with Primary Chemotherapy

In breast cancer patients who have received primary chemotherapy and then no longer have any suspicious lymph nodes clinically and/or on imaging, marking of initially suspicious axillary lymph nodes with targeted removal has recently been discussed and practised both in Germany and internationally as an alternative to complete axillary lymph node dissection. Tattooing of the suspicious lymph nodes with a highly purified carbon suspension is currently being investigated in clinical studies. Compared with other techniques, the advantages of this method are the high rate of intraoperative lymph node detection, avoidance of an immediately preoperative localisation procedure and the low costs. The practical aspects of lymph node tattooing and the current data regarding this method will be described.

Reducing bias and increasing surgical knowledge: multicentre prospective breast cancer studies

In the March issue of BJS several hot topics within the breast surgery field are highlighted in beautifully planned and executed prospective multicentre trials. BJS encourages the surgical communities in most fields to move towards prospective collaborative and multicentre studies, thereby increasing both power and generalizability as well as reducing the risk of bias.

The Clinical Relevance of Target Lymph Node Biopsy after Primary Systemic Therapy in Initially Node-Positive Breast Cancer Patients

Simple Summary

Currently, the optimal axillary surgical approach for breast cancer patients with initial node-positive disease and conversion to clinically node-negative status after primary systemic therapy is unclear. The aim of our study was to evaluate the clinical impact of removing the initially most suspicious, labeled axillary lymph node in addition to the sentinel lymph node. Metastatic target lymph nodes were found in five out of 63 patients (7.9%), while the sentinel lymph node was either tumor-free or not detected. The removal of the target lymph node influenced the adjuvant systemic therapy in only one case (1.6%). However, complete axillary dissection was indicated in all five cases. Furthermore, with fewer than three sentinel lymph nodes removed, the target lymph node reduced the false-negative rate to less than 10%. We therefore conclude that although the target lymph node has a minor impact on adjuvant systemic therapy, it is relevant for surgical axillary management.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the impact of the removal of the target lymph node (TLN) on therapy after the completion of primary systemic therapy (PST) in initially node-positive breast cancer patients. Methods: Pooled data analysis of participants of the prospective CLIP- and TATTOO-study at the University of Rostock was performed. Results: A total of 75 patients were included; 63 of them (84.0%) converted to clinically node-negative after PST. Both TLN and sentinel lymph node (SLN) were identified in 41 patients (51.2%). In five out of 63 patients (7.9%), the TLN was metastatic after PST and the SLN was either tumor-free or not detected. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) was conducted in all five patients. In one patient, systemic therapy recommendation was influenced by the TLN; adjuvant radiotherapy was influenced by the TLN in zero patients. For patients with fewer than three removed SLNs, the FNR was 28.6% for the SLN biopsy alone and 7.1% for targeted axillary dissection (TAD). Conclusions: Removal of the TLN in addition to the SLN after PST has only minimal impact on the type of adjuvant systemic therapy and radiotherapy. However, the extent of axillary surgery was relevantly affected and FNR was improved by TAD.