BREAST Flashcards
When to do genetic testing for BRCA?
PATIENT
- Ashkenazi Jew
- bilateral breast cancers
- male breast cancer
- triple negative breast cancer <40
FAMILY
- 3 relatives of any age with breast/ovarian cancer
- Male breast cancer
OTHER
- Manchester Score > 15 = 20% Chance of finding gene
What are the indications for breat MRI?
SCREENING FOR BREAST CANCER
- high risk patients (BRCA, childhood Hodgkin’s lymphoma)
- Breast implants
PROVEN BREAST CANCER
- neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before/during/after to monitor disease progression)
- Lobular carcinoma (very difficult to detect LC on mammogram)
- Occult breast cancer (e.g. metastatic lymph node)
What are the causes of nipple discharge?
Physiological
- Hormonal variation
- Pregnancy/Post lactational
- Mechanical stimulation
- Galactorrhea
- Duct ectasia /periductal mastitis
Pharmacological
- Oestrogens/Progestrogen
- Long term opiates
- Antidepressants
- Antipyschotics
- Metachlopramide
Pathological
- papilloma
- duct ectasia
- breast cancer
- paget’s disease
How do you manage nipple discharge?
Abnormal pathology
- treat as cause
Normal pathology
- single duct (not clear) = microdochectomy
- multiple duct = subareolar excision (Hadfield’s)
Causes of gynaecomastia
-
Physiological
- high serum oestradiol:testosterone (neonates, puberty, elderly)
-
Pharmacological
- Recreational = marijuana, anabolic steroids
- hormonal inhibitors = spirinolactone
- secondary hyperprolactinemia = TCA, metoclopramide
-
Pathological
- Either problem with oestrogen or testosterone
- oestrogen production increased = tumours (pituatry, testicular, adrenal), paraneoplastic syndrome (bronchial cancer)
- reduced oestrogen clearance = cirrhosis, haemachromatosis,
- reduced testosterone production = Klinfelters, cryptochordism,
What is Phyllodes tumour?
A stromal fibro-epithelial neoplasm whereby 90% are benign however 10% are malignant.
Presents as a rapidly growing breast mass
What is the difference between benign and malignant Phyllodes tumour?
It is the stromal component that determines malignant potential
Malignant
- stromal cellularity and mitotic rate are high
- infiltrative tumour margin
- sarcoma like behaviour - metstasize to lung and NOT LNs
Managment of Phyllodes tumour
MDT discussion
Breast = Main treatment
- Excision with negative margins (R0) – 1 cm
- BCT is sufficient as long as can achieve margin
- Mastectomy if cannot achieve adequate margin
Axilla
- Rarely spread to lymph nodes therefore SLNBx or ALND is not recommended (even for malignant tumours)
Adjuvant XRT
- Borderline or malignant phyllodes
Systemic therapy
- No role for hormonal therapy.
- Controversial role for chemo, however consider if
- Size > 5cm
- Malignant
What is Paget’s disease of the nipple?
Eczematous and inflammatory change involving the nipple/areolar complex
Histologically
- large pale staining cells with prominent ovoid nucleoli
- pathological hallmark = Paget’s cells (intra-epithelial cells) in the epidermis
What are the pathogenesis theories of Paget’s disease?
2 main theories exist
migration (epidermotrophic)
- ductal cells migrate from the basement membrane of the ducts into the nipple epidermis.
transformation
- Paget’s cells arise from transformed malignant keratinocytes (Toker cells).
How do you treat mammary Paget’s disease?
Triple assessment;
It can harbor underlying carcinoma (invasive or in-situ) in 85-90% of cases and clinically/radiologically – often normal
Confirm diagnosis
- core biopsy (or full thickness wedge biopsy) of nipple
Imaging
- Mammogram with magnified views of the subareolar region and Ultrasound (breast + axilla)
- MRI breast if mammographically normal
Breast
- (Simple) Mastectomy + SLNBx = diffuse disease or disease at a distance from nipple
- BCT (WLE) of nipple/ducts with adjuvant radiotherapy = disease localized to nipple areolar complex.
Axilla
The risk of axillary metastases is higher in women with invasive cancer and a palpable mass
The management of the axilla is the same as for any breast cancer
SLNBx indications
- Clinically node negative
- Synchronous with mastectomy
- Invasive cancer identified (but clinically impalpable breast lesion)
- ALND* indications
- Clinically node positive (FNA proven)
Systemic Therapy
- Limited evidence regarding efficacy of tamoxifen in Paget’s disease
- Unclear if reduces local recurrence rates
- should be based solely upon the characteristics of any associated ductal carcinoma
What is the pathological definition for DCIS and high grade DCIS?
General
- Pre-invasive, in-situ lesion of the breast where malignant epithelial cells are found confined within the basement membrane.
- 5 types of DCIS are = comedo, cribiform, papillary/micropapillary and solid.
High-grade
- Large pleomorphic nucleoli are large (>3 x size of RBC)
- coarse/clumped chromatin
- frequent mitoses and high proliferative rate
- Comedonecrosis usually present but not required
Why shouldn’t you use methylene blue dye for a SLNBx if a patient is also taking psychiatric medications?
- Methylene blue inhibits the action of monoamine oxidase A
- enzyme responsible for breaking down serotonin in the brain.
- Toxic levels of serotonin can build up in the brain when methylene blue is given to patients taking serotonergic psychiatric medications.
- serotonin syndrome
What are the indications for mastectomy in DCIS?
- multifocal DCIS (if adequate excision cannot be achieved with a cosmetically acceptable outcome)
- widespread calcification
- Persistently positive margins (after re-excision)
- Paget’s disease
- Patient preference
What are the indications for SLNBx in DCIS?
- Undergoing mastectomy
- Palpable mass
- Size > 5cm
- Biopsy findings (high grade, microinvasion, comedonecrosis)