Influence of surgical technique on mastectomy and reexcision rates in breast-conserving therapy for cancer

Does Nipple-Ward Positive Margin Contribute to a Higher Rate of Re-Excision Procedures After a Lumpectomy with Pathology-Confirmed Positive Margins? A Retrospective Study

Background

Positive margins on lumpectomy specimens are associated with a twofold increased risk of local breast tumor recurrence. Prior literature has demonstrated various techniques and modalities for assessing margin status to reduce re-excision rates. However, there is paucity of literature analyzing which margin contributes to the highest re-excision rates. Therefore, the primary aim of the study was to investigate whether the nipple-ward margins resulted in a higher rate of re-excision in our patient population.

Methods

 A retrospective chart review was performed on patients who had re-excision surgery. Nipple-ward margin was identified by correlating radiological and pathological reports. A cut-off of more than 25% was used to demonstrate correlation between nipple-ward margin and re-excision rate.

Results

A total of 98 patients' data were analyzed, with 41 (41.8%), 14 (14.3%), 5 (5.1%), and 38 (38.8%) diagnosed with DCIS, IDC, ILC, and mixed pathology on their margins, respectively. Overall, 48% (n=47) of the positive margins were nipple-ward, with 44.7% (n=21) reporting DCIS. Upon stratification, 45 (45.9%) cases were single-margin positive, with 26 (57.8%) being nipple-ward. Furthermore, the remaining 53 (54.1%) patients had multiple positive margins, with 21 (39.6.7%) nipple-ward cases.

Conclusion

Positive nipple-ward margins significantly contribute to a higher re-excision rate p < 0.001; 48% of re-excision surgeries had positive nipple-ward margins, and 57.8% of positive single-margin cases were nipple-ward. Taking an additional shave during initial lumpectomy decreases re-excision rates. However, planning a lumpectomy procedure with a more elliptical rather than a spherical resection with additional cavity shave (ie, larger volume) in the nipple-ward direction and minimizing the remaining cavity shaves so the total volume resected remains unchanged. Nevertheless, future studies with larger sample sizes are required to bolster our findings.

How to Navigate the Treatment Spectrum from Multimodality Therapy to Observation Alone for ductal carcinoma in situ

DCIS detection has increased dramatically since the introduction of screening mammography. Current guidance concordant care recommends surgical intervention for all patients with DCIS, followed by radiation and/or endocrine therapy for some. Adjuvant therapies after surgical excision have reduced recurrence rates but not breast cancer mortality. Given the lack of evidence of current treatment regimens and the morbidity associated with these treatments, there is concern that DCIS is over-treated. Active surveillance may be a favorable alternative for selected patients and is currently being investigated through four international clinical trials.

Does cavity margin shaving reduce residual tumor and re-excision rates? A systematic review

PURPOSE

Cavity shaving (CS) is a surgical technique used in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). It may reduce margin positivity in histologic assessment and consequently reduces re- excision rates in breast conserving surgery (BCS). The evidence for this assumption is described in the present review.

METHODS

A systematic review of relevant literature in English from January 1999 to April 2019 was conducted. The analysis included studies on CS and its effects on re-excision rates and margin positivity. We searched PubMed databases for relevant publications. In total, 22 studies were included in the present review.

RESULTS

The benefit from CS on re-excision rates and histologic margin positivity was variable. Out of 22 studies, 17 reported a reduction in both re-excision rates and histologic margin positivity in margin shaved patients. Four studies could not find a significant reduction of second surgeries and residual tumor rates. One study suggested that CS after BCS was superior to single BCS only in subgroup analysis in IDC tumors.

CONCLUSION

CS is a surgical technique that was shown to reduce re-excision and margin positivity rates in most of the studies. Furthermore, it can be a useful tool to assess specimen margins and detect multifocality.

Evolution of Frozen Section in Carcinoma Breast: Systematic Review

Background. The frozen section (FS) has been a good technique in surgical management of breast lesions since many years. But complete agreement and cooperation have not been achieved everywhere among surgeons and pathologists especially in the developing countries. FS undergoes continuous criticism due to various shortcomings but continued to be evaluated especially in developing countries. Objectives. This review was conducted to synthesize information on the use of frozen section in carcinoma breast. Data Sources. The MEDLINE database for frozen section since its origin and its implication in recent breast surgery techniques was studied. Study Eligibility Criteria. Sixty-five articles were reviewed with complete analysis on FS in both benign and malignant breast lesions. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods. The analysis of frozen section was done as a diagnostic tool in breast lesions, margin status in breast conservative surgery in carcinoma breast, and sentinel lymph node and use of immunohistochemistry for sentinel lymph node FS. Results. It was analysed that the FS gives accurate results in margin status analysis, decreasing rerecurrence. Conclusion. The accuracy of FSA, low recurrence rate, avoidance of reoperation, and good cosmesis are the key points of its use in breast conservative surgery. Its use in sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is equivocal. However, application of immunohistochemistry on frozen section of SLNB is an evolving trend in today’s era.

Developing diagnostic assessment of breast lumpectomy tissues using radiomic and optical signatures

High positive margin rates in oncologic breast-conserving surgery are a pressing clinical problem. Volumetric X-ray scanning is emerging as a powerful ex vivo specimen imaging technique for analyzing resection margins, but X-rays lack contrast between non-malignant and malignant fibrous tissues. In this study, combined micro-CT and wide-field optical image radiomics were developed to classify malignancy of breast cancer tissues, demonstrating that X-ray/optical radiomics improve malignancy classification. Ninety-two standardized features were extracted from co-registered micro-CT and optical spatial frequency domain imaging samples extracted from 54 breast tumors exhibiting seven tissue subtypes confirmed by microscopic histological analysis. Multimodal feature sets improved classification performance versus micro-CT alone when adipose samples were included (AUC = 0.88 vs. 0.90; p-value = 3.65e-11) and excluded, focusing the classification task on exclusively non-malignant fibrous versus malignant tissues (AUC = 0.78 vs. 0.85; p-value = 9.33e-14). Extending the radiomics approach to high-dimensional optical data-termed "optomics" in this study-offers a promising optical image analysis technique for cancer detection. Radiomic feature data and classification source code are publicly available.

Predictors of Reexcision following Breast-Conserving Surgery for Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

BACKGROUND

Reexcision following breast-conserving surgery (BCS) in women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) results in adjuvant treatment delays, higher health care costs, and undesirable cosmetic outcomes. The purpose of this study is to determine patient, imaging, pathological, and surgical predictors of reexcision following BCS for DCIS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective review of women with DCIS who had BCS from 2007 to 2016 was conducted. Patient, imaging, pathological, and surgical features, in addition to surgical outcomes, were collected from medical records. Standard statistical tests were used to compare features between patients who did and did not undergo at least one reexcision. A multivariable logistic regression model was fit to assess features associated with reexcision.

RESULTS

A total of 547 women (mean age 59 years; range 30-88 years) diagnosed with DCIS at core needle biopsy underwent BCS. Of all women, 31.6% (173/547) had at least one reexcision. With multivariable analysis, features associated with reexcision included younger patient age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97-1.0, p = 0.049), African-American race (aOR 2.66, 95% CI 1.13-6.26, p = 0.03), biopsy modality of ultrasound (aOR 2.35, 95% CI 1.22-4.53, p = 0.01), and earlier year of surgery (aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.98, p = 0.01). No pathological features of DCIS were associated with reexcision risk.

CONCLUSIONS

In our cohort of nearly 550 women with DCIS who underwent BCS, 31.6% had at least one reexcision. Features associated with reexcision include younger patient age, African-American race, biopsy modality of ultrasound, and earlier year of surgery.

Re-excision rate after sector resection for breast cancer: A 5-year retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Positive margins after Breast conserving surgery (BCS) for breast cancer can result in local recurrence (LR) requiring further surgery. This can lead to unnecessary patient anxiety, poor prognosis and impose additional economic burden to our health system. The aim of this study is to assess the rate of re-excision for positive margins after BCS using the sector resection technique.

METHODS

This single centre retrospective cohort study included all women who underwent BCS using sector resection between the years of 2012 and 2016. A total of 456 patients underwent sector resection. We evaluated the margin status, re-excision rates and their predictive risk factors.

RESULTS

415 (91%) patients had clear margins. 41 (9%) patients underwent further re-excision for positive or close margin. 75.6% of those patients had DCIS and 51% had invasive carcinoma involving the margins. Patient and tumour characteristics associated with an increased risk of positive margin were women under the age of 50 (p = 0.19), tumours >50 mm (p = 0.001), grade-2 (p = 0.48) and grade-3 (p = 0.63), HER-2 positivity (p = 0.02), sentinel lymph node positivity (p = 0.03), and patients undergoing axillary lymph node dissection (p = 0.01).

CONCLUSION

BCS using the sector resection technique has a low re-excision rate for positive margins. Younger patients and aggressive tumour biology are important predictive risk factors for positive margins.

Trends in Reoperation After Initial Lumpectomy for Breast Cancer: Addressing Overtreatment in Surgical Management

Importance

Surgery after initial lumpectomy to obtain more widely clear margins is common and may lead to mastectomy.

Objective

To describe surgeons' approach to surgical margins for invasive breast cancer, and changes in postlumpectomy surgery rates, and final surgical treatment following a 2014 consensus statement endorsing a margin of "no ink on tumor."

Design, Setting, and Participants

This was a population-based cohort survey study of 7303 eligible women ages 20 to 79 years with stage I and II breast cancer diagnosed in 2013 to 2015 and identified from the Georgia and Los Angeles County, California, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries. A total of 5080 (70%) returned a survey. Those with bilateral disease, missing stage or treatment data, and with ductal carcinoma in situ were excluded, leaving 3729 patients in the analytic sample; 98% of these identified their attending surgeon. Between April 2015 and May 2016, 488 surgeons were surveyed regarding lumpectomy margins; 342 (70%) responded completely. Pathology reports of all patients having a second surgery and a 30% sample of those with 1 surgery were reviewed. Time trends were analyzed with multinomial regression models.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Rates of final surgical procedure (lumpectomy, unilateral mastectomy, bilateral mastectomy) and rates of additional surgery after initial lumpectomy over time, and surgeon attitudes toward an adequate lumpectomy margin.

Results

The 67% rate of initial lumpectomy in the 3729 patient analytic sample was unchanged during the study. The rate of final lumpectomy increased by 13% from 2013 to 2015, accompanied by a decrease in unilateral and bilateral mastectomy (P = .002). Surgery after initial lumpectomy declined by 16% (P < .001). Pathology review documented no significant association between date of treatment and positive margins. Of 342 responding surgeons, 69% endorsed a margin of no ink on tumor to avoid reexcision in estrogen receptor-positive progesterone receptor-positive cancer and 63% for estrogen receptor-negative progesterone- receptor-negative cancer. Surgeons treating more than 50 breast cancers annually were significantly more likely to report this margin as adequate (85%; n = 105) compared with those treating 20 cases or fewer (55%; n = 131) (P < .001).

Conclusions and Relevance

Additional surgery after initial lumpectomy decreased markedly from 2013 to 2015 concomitant with dissemination of clinical guidelines endorsing a minimal negative margin. These findings suggest that surgeon-led initiatives to address potential overtreatment can reduce the burden of surgical management in patients with cancer.

Economic Impact of Routine Cavity Margins Versus Standard Partial Mastectomy in Breast Cancer Patients: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to compare costs associated with excision of routine cavity shave margins (CSM) versus standard partial mastectomy (PM) in patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND

Excision of CSM reduces re-excision rates by more than 50%. The economic implications of this is, however, unclear.

METHODS

Between October 21, 2011 and November 25, 2013, 235 women undergoing PM for Stage 0-III breast cancer were randomized to undergo either standard PM ("no shave", n = 116) or have additional CSM taken ("shave", n = 119). Costs from both a payer and a hospital perspective were measured for index surgery and breast cancer surgery-related care through subsequent 90 days.

RESULTS

The 2 groups were well-matched in terms of baseline characteristics. Those in the "shave" group had a longer operative time at the initial surgery (median 76 vs 66 min, P < 0.01), but a lower re-excision rate for positive margins (13/119 = 10.9% vs 32/116 = 27.6%, P < 0.01). Actual direct hospital costs associated with operating room time ($1315 vs. $1137, P = 0.03) and pathology costs ($1195 vs $795, P < 0.01) were greater for the initial surgery in patients in the "shave" group. Taking into account the index surgery and the subsequent 90 days, there was no significant difference in cost from either the payer ($10,476 vs $11,219, P = 0.40) or hospital perspective ($5090 vs $5116, P = 0.37) between the "shave" and "no shave" groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall costs were not significantly different between the "shave" and "no shave" groups due to significantly fewer reoperative surgeries in the former.

Cavity Shaving plus Lumpectomy versus Lumpectomy Alone for Patients with Breast Cancer Undergoing Breast-Conserving Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The margin status is a well-established prognostic predictor for patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Recent data suggested that cavity shaving in addition to lumpectomy might be a promising approach for improving the clinical outcomes. We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety between cavity shaving plus lumpectomy and lumpectomy alone with a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases for studies comparing cavity shaving with lumpectomy before June 10, 2016. Both comparative studies and self-control studies were included. A random-effects model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for positive margin rate, reoperation rate, recurrence rate, and weighted mean difference (WMD) for excised tissue volume. Twenty-six studies were included in the meta-analysis. The cavity shaving group had a significantly lower positive margin rate than the BCS-alone group (16.4% vs. 31.9%; OR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.32-0.53, P < 0.05). Cavity shaving was associated with a significantly decreased rate of reoperation (OR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.30-0.59, P < 0.05). The overall locoregional rate was low for cavity shaving and BCS-alone (3% vs. 4%). Cavity shaving had no significant effect on the risk of locoregional recurrence (OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.32-2.35; P = 0.78). The excised tissue volume did not differ substantially between cavity shaving and BCS alone (WMD = -23.88, 95% CI -55.20 to 7.44, P = 0.14). For patients undergoing BCS, additional cavity shaving was an effective method to decrease the positive margin rate and avoid reoperation. The addition of cavity shaving did not appear to have excessive excised tissue volume compared with partial mastectomy alone.

A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Cavity Shave Margins in Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND

Routine resection of cavity shave margins (additional tissue circumferentially around the cavity left by partial mastectomy) may reduce the rates of positive margins (margins positive for tumor) and reexcision among patients undergoing partial mastectomy for breast cancer.

METHODS

In this randomized, controlled trial, we assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, 235 patients with breast cancer of stage 0 to III who were undergoing partial mastectomy, with or without resection of selective margins, to have further cavity shave margins resected (shave group) or not to have further cavity shave margins resected (no-shave group). Randomization occurred intraoperatively after surgeons had completed standard partial mastectomy. Positive margins were defined as tumor touching the edge of the specimen that was removed in the case of invasive cancer and tumor that was within 1 mm of the edge of the specimen removed in the case of ductal carcinoma in situ. The rate of positive margins was the primary outcome measure; secondary outcome measures included cosmesis and the volume of tissue resected.

RESULTS

The median age of the patients was 61 years (range, 33 to 94). On final pathological testing, 54 patients (23%) had invasive cancer, 45 (19%) had ductal carcinoma in situ, and 125 (53%) had both; 11 patients had no further disease. The median size of the tumor in the greatest diameter was 1.1 cm (range, 0 to 6.5) in patients with invasive carcinoma and 1.0 cm (range, 0 to 9.3) in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ. Groups were well matched at baseline with respect to demographic and clinicopathological characteristics. The rate of positive margins after partial mastectomy (before randomization) was similar in the shave group and the no-shave group (36% and 34%, respectively; P=0.69). After randomization, patients in the shave group had a significantly lower rate of positive margins than did those in the no-shave group (19% vs. 34%, P=0.01), as well as a lower rate of second surgery for margin clearance (10% vs. 21%, P=0.02). There was no significant difference in complications between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Cavity shaving halved the rates of positive margins and reexcision among patients with partial mastectomy. (Funded by the Yale Cancer Center; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01452399.).

The adaptation process of a teaching and research hospital to changing trends in modern breast surgery

OBJECTIVE

Minimally invasive surgery is increasingly gaining importance in breast surgery parallel to other surgical branches. Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a method that has radically changed the approach to breast surgery in the last decade of the 20(th) century. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the adaptation process to these alterations in breast surgery at our clinic.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Patients who underwent surgery with a diagnosis of breast cancer in our clinic between April 2010 and November 2013 were retrospectively evaluated in terms of demographic characteristics, the number of operations and type of surgical methods applied according to years, SLNB performance rate, and results of frozen section and histopathological analysis. The first year of SLNB practice was accepted as part of the learning curve, and 24 patients who were operated during that period underwent routine axillary dissection.

RESULTS

The median age of 198 patients who were included in the study was 55 years (25-89). It was detected that the number of cases who underwent surgery for breast cancer increased in years, that the SLNB application rate increased from 37% to 66% between 2010 and 2013 (p=0.01), and SLNB staining rates increased from 70% to 94% (p=0.03). When only results from the last four years were evaluated, the mean staining rate in patients with SLNB (n=105) was 88% (n=92), with positive histopathology in 32% of these cases (n=30). Despite a decreasing trend over the years, a metastatic axillary lymph node was detected in paraffin block evaluation in spite of negative frozen section examination of SLNB in five cases, and 5 patients (5%) out of 97 patients who underwent breast conserving surgery required re-excision. The histopathological diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma in 84% (n=167) of patients.

CONCLUSION

It was observed that during the four-year period of adaptation, the application rate of breast conserving surgery and SLNB reached accepted standards, and that both the technical problems encountered in SLNB and the requirement for re-excision after breast conserving surgery significantly decreased with increasing case volume and experience.

The value of intraoperative frozen section analysis for margin status in breast conservation surgery in a nontertiary institution

Introduction. Breast conservation treatment (BCT) for early-stage breast malignancies requires negative margins and good cosmesis. Reoperations may be needed to achieve negative margins, which can have an adverse impact on outcomes. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative frozen section analysis (IFSA) for margin assessment to reduce excision rates. Methods. All patients treated at the authors' private healthcare facility between 2009 and 2011 for breast cancer were included in the study. Those for whom BCT was intended underwent wide excision with IFSA. Six margins of the excised tissue, and the sentinel lymph node (SLN), where appropriate, were submitted for IFSA. Patient demographics, tumour characteristics, number of operations performed, and outcomes were analysed. Results. Of the 161 patients analysed, 138 (85.7%) had successful breast conservation. Four patients required a reoperation for incomplete surgical extirpation. One had a false negative SLN assessment on IFSA, and was returned to the operating room for an axillary dissection. Three patients required reoperations for inadvertently missed multicentric disease. None had false negative margin evaluation with IFSA necessitating reexcision. Conclusion. The use of IFSA allows low rates of reoperation with BCT. Further research is needed to establish consistency in low reexcision rates for cost-effectiveness and optimum resource allocation.

A pilot study evaluating shaved cavity margins with micro-computed tomography: a novel method for predicting lumpectomy margin status intraoperatively

Microscopically clear lumpectomy margins are essential in breast conservation, as involved margins increase local recurrence. Currently, 18-50% of lumpectomies have close or positive margins that require re-excision. We assessed the ability of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to evaluate lumpectomy shaved cavity margins (SCM) intraoperatively to determine if this technology could rapidly identify margin involvement by tumor and reduce re-excision rates. Twenty-five SCM from six lumpectomies were evaluated with a Skyscan 1173 table top micro-CT scanner (Skyscan, Belgium). Micro-CT results were compared to histopathological results. We scanned three SCM at once with a 7-minute scanning protocol, and studied a total of 25 SCM from six lumpectomies. Images of the SCM were evaluated for radiographic signs of breast cancer including clustered microcalcifications and spiculated masses. SCM were negative by micro-CT in 19/25 (76%) and negative (≥2 mm) by histopathology in 19/25 (76%). Margin status by micro-CT was concordant with histopathology in 23/25 (92%). Micro-CT overestimated margin involvement in 1/25 and underestimated margin involvement in 1/25. Micro-CT had an 83.3% positive predictive value, a 94.7% negative predictive value, 83.3% sensitivity, and 94.7% specificity for evaluation of SCM. Evaluation of SCM by micro-CT is an accurate and promising method of intraoperative margin assessment in breast cancer patients. The scanning time required is short enough to permit real-time feedback to the operating surgeon, allowing immediate directed re-excision.