Breast Flashcards
What risk factors result in a >4 times relative risk of breast cancer?
Gene mutation
Lobular carcinoma in situ
Ductal carcinoma in situ
Atypical hyperplasia
Who can an USS help define a solid mass particularly well in?
Young women
Women with mammographically dense breasts
What investigation is needed for definitive diagnosis of breast cancer?
Image-guided core-needle biopsy
Ductal carcinoma in situ is usually not palpable. How does it appear on screening?
Malignant calcifications:
- Pleomorphic
- Casting
How is ductal carcinoma in situ diagnosed definitively?
Stereotactic vacuum biopsy
How does invasive lobular carcinoma spread?
Diffusely
How does invasive lobular carcinoma appear histologically?
‘Indian file’ pattern (not visible or palpable early)
What is always required following breast-conserving surgery?
Radiotherapy
What is a modified radical mastectomy?
Removes entire breast including:
- Overlying skin
- Axillary lymph nodes
What is preserved in a modified radical mastectomy and why?
Pectoralis major:
- Improve wound healing
- Better reconstruction
What are the indications for post-mastectomy radiotherapy?
> 3 nodes involved
Positive surgical margins
Tumours >5cm
What is the first line targeted drug therapy for malignant breast cancer?
Bevacizumab:
- Recombinant humanised monoclonal Ab against VEGF
How does Lapatinib work?
Dual inhibitor for EGFR and HER2 tyrosine kinases
When and with what is Lapatinib prescribed?
Advanced breast cancer and metastatic disease in those with HER+ disease and who have had previous therapy including: - An anthracycline and - A taxine and - Herceptin Prescribed with Capecitabine
What is Trastuzumab?
A HER2 inhibitor
How does cyclic mastalgia present?
Diffuse
Most intense premenstrual
Usually bilateral
How does non-cyclic mastalgia present?
Localised
Often persistent
Less responsive to treatment
How is mastalgia treated?
Evening primose oil
Tamoxifen
Topical NSAIDs
How does a breast cyst feel on examination?
Clearly defined
Soft
Mobile
Smooth
When is a breast cyst usually most tender?
Before menstruation
How can a breast cyst be diagnosed and treated?
FNA
How is mastitis treated?
Flucloxacillin 500mg PO every 6 hrs for 7 days
OR
Augmentin 625mg every 8 hrs for 7 days
When should antibiotics for mastitis be administered?
As soon as signs/symptoms:
- Fever
- Erythema
- Induration
- Tenderness
- Swelling
After treating mastitis, how should examination be carried out?
Examine every 3 days:
- Ensure response to therapy
- Ensure no abscess formation
How is an abscess in mastitis treated?
Drainage
What can cause non-puerperal mastitis?
Staph. aureus
Peptostreptococcus magnus
Bacteroides fragilis
How is non-puerperal mastitis treated?
Augmentin 625mg every 8 hrs for 7 days
OR
Cephalexin 500mg PO every 6 hours
What is chronic mastitis associated with?
Subareolar abscess
What can occur in chronic mastitis?
Periareolar fistulae
What cells are seen in an apocrine metaplasia of breast epithelial cells?
Eosinophils (in the lining of a cyst)
What is a galactocoele?
Palpable milk-filled cyst
What are galactocoeles associated with?
Pregnancy
Lactation
How are galactocoeles diagnosed and treated?
FNA
How do lipomas appear on mammography?
Thin border (they are palpable)
What is Mondor’s Disease?
Phlebitis
Subsequent clot formation in superficial breast veins
How does Mondor’s Disease look and feel?
Firm, vertical, cord-like structure
What is Mondor’s Disease associated with?
Breast trauma (eg. Surgery)
How long does Mondor’s Disease take to resolve?
8-12 weeks
What is the routine screening for breast cancer?
Mammography:
- Aged 50-70
- Every 3 years
- Picks up small and impalpable tumours
How many palpable lumps (breast cancer) are operable?
84%
What triple assessment occurs at the one stop clinic?
Physical examination of the breasts Breast imaging: - Mammogram +/or - USS FNA or Needle-core biopsy if lump found
If breast cancer is confirmed, what further investigations are done?
Staging CT
Breast MRI (especially if lobular)
?Bone scan
How is a ductal carcinoma in situ treated?
Breast-conserving therapies
OR
Mastectomy
What radiotherapy follows the treatment of a DCIS?
Radiotherapy of the whole breast:
- 40Gy in 15 sessions over 3 weeks
- Using 2 tangential fields
When can the breast alone be irradiated following breast conserving surgery?
Negative sentinel node biopsy (SNB)
Micromets. (>0.2mm but <2mm) in SNB
<4 nodes involved in adequate axillary node clearance
When is there a radiotherapeutic boost to the tumour bed following breast conserving surgery?
Women under age 54 on day of surgery
Posterior margin <1mm for invasive disease after full thickness excision
When is chest wall radiotherapy carried out following mastectomy?
Tumour size >5cm
>=4 nodes involved
Involved resection margins
T4 disease
When is the ipsilateral axilla irradiated following breast surgery?
> 1 positive macrometastases in sentinel node biopsy
Extensive ECS post-axillary clearance
Following neo-adjuvant treatment, when is a node considered involved?
If there is a pathological response (scarring) in the node
Where is 5 field radiotherapy directed?
Whole breast OR Chest wall
Axilla
Supraclavicular fossa
When is tamoxifen used in breast cancer?
ER+ disease
Preferred in premenopausal women
How long can tamoxifen be given?
10yrs
When is letrozole used in breast cancer?
Preferred in postmenopausal women
How long can tamoxifen be given?
5yrs
When is trastuzumab used in breast cancer?
HER+ patients (as measured by IHC or FISH)
How many breast cancer patients are HER+?
25-30%
For locally advanced breast cancer, when is radiotherapy considered?
As initial therapy for a primary inoperable tumour
Patients still inoperable after primary systemic therapy
Post-surgery for all patients
In locally advanced breast cancer, what can be done in patients with T>4b tumours?
0.5cm bolus following mastectomy
Increase skin does
What cancers tend to metastasise to the breast?
Lung Liver Bone Brain Skin
How are the symptoms of metastatic breast cancer treated?
Bisphosphonates
Radiotherapy
Chemotherapy
When not lactating, what is the structure of the mammary gland?
Secretory lobe -? Extralobular duct -> Lactiferous duct -> Lactiferous sinus -> Nipple
How many lobes are there per breast?
15-25
What is each lobe in the breast associated with?
A compound tubulo-acinar gland
What tissue is adjacent to lobes?
Dense fibrous tissue
Adipose tissue
What is the structure of the duct system?
Terminal ductules -> Intralobular collecting duct -> Lactiferous duct
What does the lactiferous duct expand into?
Lactiferous sinus
What is the lining of larger ducts?
Columnar
In secretory acini, what is the structure of the epithelium?
Cuboidal
OR
Low-columnar
What are the epithelial cells in secretory acini surrounded by?
Myoepithelial cells
What is the potential origination of breast lobes?
Modified sweat glands
What is the epithelium covering the nipple?
High pigmented keratinised stratified squamous epithelium
What is at the core of the nipple?
Dense irregular connective tissue with smooth muscle bundles
What is the lining of the ducts near the surface?
Stratified squamoues
What is the lining of the ducts deeper than the surface?
Stratified cuboidal
What is the lining of the deepest ducts?
Cuboidal (1 cell thick)
What glands are on the surface of the nipple?
Sebaceous glands
What happens to the structure of the breast during the luteal phase of menstruation?
Epithelial cells increase in height
Lumina of ducts increase in diameter
Small secretions
What happens to the structure of the breast following menopause?
Secretory cells degenerate so only ducts are left
Reduced fibroblasts:
- Reduced collagen and elastic fibres
What happens to the structure of the breast during the 1st trimester?
Elongation and branching of smaller ducts
Proliferation of gland epithelium and myoepithelial cells
What happens to the structure of the breast during the 2nd trimester?
Differentiation of secretory alveoli
Plasma cells and lymphocytes infiltrate connective tissue
What happens to the structure of the breast during the 3rd trimester?
Secretory alveoli mature
Development of extensive RER
What are the breast changes in pregnancy accompanied by?
Reduced amount of connective and adipose tissues
What is the main component of milk?
88% water
What are the main proteins in breastmilk?
Lactalbumin
Casein
What is the main carbohydrate in breast milk?
Lactose
What is present in small amounts in breast milk?
Ions
Vitamins
IgA
How are lipids secreted into the breast milk?
Secretory cell cytoplasm contains lipid droplets
As droplets bud off they are surrounded by some:
- Cytoplasm
- Plasma membrane
Apocrine secretion
How are proteins secreted into the breast milk?
Made in rER
Packaged in golgi and released via vesicles:
- Merge with apical membrane and release contents
Merocrine secretion
What is breast FNA cytology C1?
Unsatisfactory
What is breast FNA cytology C2?
Benign