Nipple-sparing mastectomy for early breast cancer: the importance of intraoperative evaluation of retroareolar margins and intra-nipple duct removal

Intraoperative Examination of Retro-Areolar Margin is not Routinely Necessary During Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy for Cancer

BACKGROUND

Intraoperative examination of retro-areolar margin (IERM) often is used during nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) for cancer, but there is no robust data regarding its real advantage.

METHODS

Consecutive patients undergoing NSM for cancer with omission of IERM according to institutional protocols from 2016 to 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The decision to maintain or remove the Nipple-Areola Complex (NAC) after definitive pathology was taken at the multidisciplinary meeting.

RESULTS

Among 162 women operated in the study period, the presence of neoplastic cells within 2 mm from the inked retroareolar margin (RAM) was detected at permanent pathology in 17 cases (10.5%). Nipple-Areola-Complex (NAC) was removed postoperatively in five patients (3%) for margins <1 mm, the other 12 were observed, whereas postoperative NAC necrosis required surgical removal in additional five cases (3%). The NAC was thus preserved in 152 of 162 patients (94%). At multivariate analysis, RAM ≤2 mm was associated with radiological tumor-to-nipple distance less than or equal to 1 cm (p = 0.04) and Ki67 label index ≥ 20 (p = 0.04), whereas multifocality/multicentricity showed a trend towards significance (p = 0.07). At a median follow-up of 46 months, five locoregional relapses occurred (3%), only one of them involving the NAC (0, 6%). Locoregional relapse and overall survival for patients with RAM > or < 2 mm were not different.

CONCLUSIONS

IERM is not routinely necessary during NSM for cancer, because its omission is associated with a very low return to the operating room, it is oncologically safe, and associated pitfalls are avoided. Further studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

Breast cancer local recurrence after mastectomy with immediate latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap reconstruction: A case report

Even though most local recurrences after autologous breast reconstruction occur in superficial tissue, they also occur in deep tissue in the reconstructed breast. A 49-year-old woman presented with a bloody discharge from the right nipple. Ultrasonography revealed a hypoechoic area in her right breast, which was diagnosed as ductal carcinoma in situ on histopathology. We performed nipple-sparing mastectomy and immediate reconstruction of the breast with a latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap. At 6 years postoperatively, the patient presented with a palpable mass. Ultrasonography revealed a solid mass lesion subcutaneously in the right breast. Computed tomography revealed multiple enhanced solid mass lesions in the subcutaneous and deep tissues of the reconstructed breast. The mass in the deep tissue of the reconstructed breast was diagnosed as an invasive micropapillary carcinoma by biopsy. For local recurrence, we performed wide excision of the reconstructed breast. The masses in the subcutaneous and deep tissues of the reconstructed breast were diagnosed as invasive micropapillary carcinoma. Superficial recurrence was first detected by physical examination, and deep recurrence was later detected with further imaging. We present a case of local recurrences that occurred in the deep tissue, in addition to superficial tissue of the reconstructed breast.

How to Perform Repeat Sentinel Node Biopsy Safely After a Previous Mastectomy: Technical Features and Oncologic Outcomes

BACKGROUND

The latest National Comprehensive Cancer Network Breast Cancer Guidelines still discourage repeat sentinel node biopsy (SNB) after mastectomy, and the largest multicentric study available reports only 35 cases in the absence of previous axillary dissection (AD).

METHODS

From January 2003 to November 2018, 89 patients of the European Institute of Oncology with local recurrence of breast cancer after mastectomy, free of distant metastases, with a clinically negative axilla and a negative axillary ultrasound, in absence of AD, underwent lymphatic mapping before wide local excision.

RESULTS

During surgery, SNB was successful for 99% of the patients, with 14% being metastatic. Additional metastatic nodes removed by AD after a positive sentinel node occurred in 82% of cases. After a medium follow-up period of 3.7 years, the overall survival rate was 96.7%, and the disease-free survival rate was 84.4%. No axillary relapse after AD was recorded. One patient who refused human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted treatment experienced ipsilateral axillary recurrence after a negative repeat SNB. The first axillary level was never directly irradiated because all the patients with positive repeat SNB underwent AD. For invasive luminal-like HER2-negative recurrences, the metastatic sentinel node was significantly associated with the choice to prescribe adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

In specialized centers, repeat axillary SNB for patients with local recurrence after mastectomy in the absence of previous AD can represent a safe option for detection and removal of occult axillary disease that would otherwise not be excised/irradiated to achieve better local control and could possibly influence the choice of adjuvant treatments.