Effect of Intraoperative Imprint Cytology Followed by Frozen Section on Margin Assessment in Breast-Conserving Surgery

Diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative methods for margin assessment in breast cancer surgery: A systematic review & meta-analysis

PURPOSE

There are a wide variety of intraoperative techniques available in breast surgery to achieve low rates for positive margins of excision. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the pooled diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative breast margin assessment techniques that have been evaluated in clinical practice.

METHODS

This study was performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search of the literature was conducted to identify studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative margin assessment techniques. Only clinical studies with raw diagnostic accuracy data as compared with final permanent section histopathology were included in the meta-analysis. A bivariate model for diagnostic meta-analysis was used to determine overall pooled sensitivity and specificity.

RESULTS

Sixty-one studies were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Cytology demonstrated the best diagnostic accuracy, with pooled sensitivity of 0.92 (95 % CI 0.77-0.98) and a pooled specificity of 0.95 (95 % CI 0.90-0.97). The findings also indicate good diagnostic accuracy for optical spectroscopy, with a pooled sensitivity of 0.86 (95 % CI 0.76-0.93) and a pooled specificity of 0.92 (95 % CI 0.82-0.97).

CONCLUSION

Pooled data indicate that optical spectroscopy, cytology and frozen section have the greatest diagnostic accuracy of currently available intraoperative margin assessment techniques. However, long turnaround time for results and their resource intensive nature has prevented widespread adoption of these methods. The aim of emerging technologies is to compete with the diagnostic accuracy of these established techniques, while improving speed and usability.

Neural Network Based Classification of Breast Cancer Histopathological Image from Intraoperative Rapid Frozen Sections

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide. Despite the rapid developments in diagnostic techniques and medical sciences, pathologic diagnosis is still recognized as the gold standard for disease diagnose. Pathologic diagnosis is a time-consuming task performed for pathologists, needing profound professional knowledge and long-term accumulated diagnostic experience. Therefore, the development of automatic and precise histopathological image classification is essential for medical diagnosis. In this study, an improved VGG network was used to classify the breast cancer histopathological image from intraoperative rapid frozen sections. We adopt a transformed loss function by adding a penalty to cross-entropy in our training stage, which improved the accuracy on test data by 4.39%. Laplacian-4 was used for the enhancement of images, which contributes to the improvement of the accuracy. The accuracy of the proposed model on training data and test data reached 88.70% and 82.27%, respectively, which outperforms the original model by 9.39% of accuracy in test data. The process time was less than 0.25 s per image on average. Meanwhile, the heat maps of predictions were given to show the evidential regions in histopathological images, which could drive improvements in the accuracy, speed, and clinical value of pathological diagnoses. In addition to helping with the actual diagnosis, this technology may be a benefit to pathologists, surgeons, and patients. It might prove to be a helpful tool for pathologists in the future.

Breast-Conserving Surgery Margin Guidance Using Micro-Computed Tomography: Challenges When Imaging Radiodense Resection Specimens

BACKGROUND

Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is an integral component of early-stage breast cancer treatment, but costly reexcision procedures are common due to the high prevalence of cancer-positive margins on primary resections. A need exists to develop and evaluate improved methods of margin assessment to detect positive margins intraoperatively.

METHODS

A prospective trial was conducted through which micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) with radiological interpretation by three independent readers was evaluated for BCS margin assessment. Results were compared to standard-of-care intraoperative margin assessment (i.e., specimen palpation and radiography [abbreviated SIA]) for detecting cancer-positive margins.

RESULTS

Six hundred margins from 100 patients were analyzed. Twenty-one margins in 14 patients were pathologically positive. On analysis at the specimen-level, SIA yielded a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 42.9%, 76.7%, 23.1%, and 89.2%, respectively. SIA correctly identified six of 14 margin-positive cases with a 23.5% false positive rate (FPR). Micro-CT readers achieved sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV ranges of 35.7-50.0%, 55.8-68.6%, 15.6-15.8%, and 86.8-87.3%, respectively. Micro-CT readers correctly identified five to seven of 14 margin-positive cases with an FPR range of 31.4-44.2%. If micro-CT scanning had been combined with SIA, up to three additional margin-positive specimens would have been identified.

DISCUSSION

Micro-CT identified a similar proportion of margin-positive cases as standard specimen palpation and radiography, but due to difficulty distinguishing between radiodense fibroglandular tissue and cancer, resulted in a higher proportion of false positive margin assessments.

Efficacy of digital breast tomosynthesis combined with magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of early breast cancer

BACKGROUND

The incidence and mortality rate of breast cancer in China rank 120^th and 163^rd, worldwide, respectively. The incidence of breast cancer is on the rise; the risk increases with age but is slightly reduced after menopause. Early screening, diagnosis, and timely determination of the best treatment plan can ensure clinical efficacy and prognosis.

AIM

To evaluate the clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) in diagnosing early breast cancer and the effect of breast-conserving surgery by arc incision.

METHODS

This study was divided into two parts. Firstly, 110 patients with early breast cancer confirmed by pathological examination and 110 with benign breast diseases diagnosed simultaneously in Changzhi People’s Hospital of Shanxi Province and Shanxi Dayi Hospital from May 2019 to September 2020 were included in the breast cancer group and the benign group, respectively. Both groups underwent DBT and MRI examination, and the pathological results were used as the gold standard to evaluate the effectiveness of the combined application of DBT and MRI in the diagnosis of early breast cancer. Secondly, according to the operation method, 110 patients with breast cancer were divided into either a breast-conserving group (69 patients) or a modified radical mastectomy group (41 patients). The surgical effect, cosmetic effect, and quality of life of the two groups were compared.

RESULTS

Among the 110 cases of breast cancer, 66 were of invasive ductal carcinoma (60.00%), and 22 were of ductal carcinoma in situ (20.00%). Among the 110 cases of benign breast tumors, 55 were of breast fibromas (50.00%), and 27 were of breast adenosis (24.55%). The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of DBT in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors were 73.64%, 84.55%, and 0.791, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of MRI in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors were 84.55%, 85.45%, and 0.850, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of DBT combined with MRI in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors were 97.27%, 93.64%, and 0.955, respectively. The blood loss, operation time and hospitalization time of the breast-conserving group were significantly lower than those of the modified radical treatment group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). After 3 mo of observation, the breast cosmetic effect of the breast-conserving group was better than that of the modified radical group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Before surgery, the quality-of-life scores of the breast-conserving and modified radical mastectomy groups did not differ (P > 0.05). Three months after surgery, the quality-of-life scores in both groups were higher than those before surgery (P < 0.05), and the quality-of-life score of the breast-conserving group was higher than that of the modified radical group (P < 0.05). In the observation of tumor recurrence rate two years after the operation, four patients in the breast-conserving group and one in the modified radical treatment group had a postoperative recurrence. There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate between the two groups (χ² = 0.668, P = 0.414 > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

MRI combined with DBT in diagnosing early breast cancer can significantly improve the diagnostic efficacy compared with the two alone. Breast-conserving surgery leads to better cosmetic breast effects and reduces the impact of surgery on postoperative quality of life.

Development and Validation of a Prediction Model for Positive Margins in Breast-Conserving Surgery

Background

The chances of second surgery due to positive margins in patients receiving breast-conversing surgery (BCS) were about 20-40%. This study aims to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the status of breast-conserving margins.

Methods

The database identified patients with core needle biopsy-proven ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive breast carcinoma who underwent BCS in Shanxi Bethune Hospital between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2021 (n = 573). The patients were divided into two models: (1) The first model consists of 398 patients who underwent BCS between 2015 and 2019; (2) The validation model consists of 175 patients who underwent BCS between 2020 and 2021. The development of the nomogram was based on the findings of multivariate logistic regression analysis. Discrimination was assessed by computing the C-index. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used to validate the calibration performance.

Results

The final multivariate regression model was developed as a nomogram, including blood flow signals (OR = 2.88, p = 0.001), grade (OR = 2.46, p = 0.002), microcalcifications (OR = 2.39, p = 0.003), tumor size in ultrasound (OR = 2.12, p = 0.011) and cerbB-2 status (OR = 1.99, p = 0.042). C-indices were calculated of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.64-0.78) and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.59-0.78) for the modeling and the validation group, respectively. The calibration of the model was considered adequate in the validation group (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

We developed a nomogram that enables the estimation of the preoperative risk of positive BCS margins. Our nomogram provides a valuable tool for identifying high-risk patients who might have to undergo a wider excision.

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.

Compression optical coherence elastography versus strain ultrasound elastography for breast cancer detection and differentiation: pilot study

The aims of this study are (i) to compare ultrasound strain elastography (US-SE) and compression optical coherence elastography (C-OCE) in characterization of elastically linear phantoms, (ii) to evaluate factors that can cause discrepancy between the results of the two elastographic techniques in application to real tissues, and (iii) to compare the results of US-SE and C-OCE in the differentiation of benign and malignant breast lesions. On 22 patients, we first used standard US-SE for in vivo assessment of breast cancer before and then after the lesion excision C-OCE was applied for intraoperative visualization of margins of the tumors and assessment of their type/grade using fresh lumpectomy specimens. For verification, the tumor grades and subtypes were determined histologically. We show that in comparison to US-SE, quantitative C-OCE has novel capabilities due to its ability to locally control stress applied to the tissue and obtain local stress-strain curves. For US-SE, we demonstrate examples of malignant tumors that were erroneously classified as benign and vice versa. For C-OCE, all lesions are correctly classified in agreement with the histology. The revealed discrepancies between the strain ratio given by US-SE and ratio of tangent Young's moduli obtained for the same samples by C-OCE are explained. Overall, C-OCE enables significantly improved specificity in breast lesion differentiation and ability to precisely visualize margins of malignant tumors compared. Such results confirm high potential of C-OCE as a high-speed and accurate method for intraoperative assessment of breast tumors and detection of their margins.

Development of intraoperative assessment of margins in breast conserving surgery: a narrative review

OBJECTIVE

We intend to provide an informative and up-to-date summary on the topic of intraoperative assessment of margins in breast conserving surgery (BCS). Conventional methods as well as cutting-edge technologies are analyzed for their advantages and limitations in the hope that clinicians can turn to this for reference. This review can also offer guidance for technicians in the future design of intraoperative margin assessment tools.

BACKGROUND

Achieving negative margins during BCS is one of the vital factors for preventing local recurrence. Conducting intraoperative margin assessment can ensure negative margins to a large extent and possibly relieve patients of the anguish of re-interventions. In recent years, innovative methods for margin assessment during BCS are advancing rapidly. And there is a lack of summary regarding the development of intraoperative margin assessment in BCS.

METHODS

A PubMed search with keywords "intraoperative margin assessment" and "breast conserving surgery" was conducted. Relevant publications were screened manually for its title, abstract and even full text to determine its true relevance. Publications on neo-adjuvant therapy and intraoperative radiotherapy were excluded. References from the searched articles and other supplementary articles were also looked into.

CONCLUSIONS

Conventional methods for margin assessment yields stable outcome but its use is limited because of the demand on pathology staff and the trade-off between time and precision. Conventional imaging techniques pass the workload to radiologists at the cost of a significantly low duration of time. Involving artificial intelligence for image-based assessment is a further improvement. However, conventional imaging is inherently flawed in that occult lesions can't show on the image and the showing ones are ambiguous and open to interpretation. Unconventional techniques which base their judgment on cellular composition are more reassuring. Nonetheless, unconventional techniques should be subjected to clinical trials before putting into practice. And studies regarding comparison between conventional methods and unconventional methods are also needed to evaluate their relative efficacy.