Can Breast Cancer Biopsy Influence Sentinel Lymph Node Status?

Reducing the Risk of Needle Tract Seeding or Tumor Cell Dissemination during Needle Biopsy Procedures

PURPOSE

Many women fear that breast needle biopsies increase the risk of cancer spread. The purpose of this review article is to discuss the breast cancer literature regarding the risk of needle-biopsy-induced cancer cell displacement and its impact on local and regional recurrence and breast cancer survival.

METHODS

A literature review is performed to discuss the risks and mitigation of needle-biopsy-induced cancer cell displacement.

RESULTS

Needle-biopsy-induced cancer cell displacement is a common event. The risk is influenced by the biopsy technique and the breast cancer type. Evidence suggests that the risk of needle-biopsy-induced cancer cell displacement may potentially increase the odds of local recurrence but has no impact on regional recurrence and long-term survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Technical modifications of needle biopsy procedures can reduce the risk of breast needle-biopsy-induced cancer cell displacement and potentially reduce the risk of local recurrence, especially in patients for whom whole breast radiation is to be omitted.

Primary Breast Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in a 42-Year-Old Female: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Primary breast diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PB-DLBCL) is a rare localized extranodal lymphoma. It is mainly diagnosed by pathological examination due to the lack of specific clinical and imaging manifestations. Whole-body positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) is widely used in determining clinical staging and guiding clinical treatment. As part of comprehensive treatment, targeted therapy with rituximab, intrathecal methotrexate injection and consolidation radiotherapy remain controversial in treating PB-DLBCL, but the comprehensive treatment based on full-course of chemotherapy is still widely used as the first-line treatment. Comprehensive treatment often leads to a sharp decline in the immunity of elderly patients with malignancy. In this situation, surgery may be a good chance to improve their life quality without serious complications. We present a rare case of PB-DLBCL during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The patient underwent chest CT scan to screen COVID-19 and a mass of left breast was accidentally found. Because of the city lockdown policy in Wuhan, she did not seek medical help until noticing that the mass was gradually enlarged. Both ultrasonography and mammography indicated that the lesion was breast cancer. However, ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy revealed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of breast and PET-CT scan showed that the lesion was a primary hypermetabolic tumor of left breast. The patient subsequently received comprehensive treatment based on six cycles of rituximab-cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunomycin, oncovin, prednisone (R-CHOP) chemotherapy.

The association between methods of biopsy and survival following breast cancer: A hospital registry based cohort study

Percutaneous biopsy in breast cancer has been associated with an increased risk of malignant cell seeding. However, the importance of these observations remains obscure due to lack of corroborating evidence from clinical studies. We determined whether method of biopsy is associated with breast cancer survival. This hospital registry-based cohort study included 3416 non-metastatic breast cancer patients diagnosed from 1993 to 2011 in a tertiary setting. Factors associated with biopsy methods were assessed. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to determine the independent prognostic impact of method of biopsy. Overall, 990 patients were diagnosed by core needle biopsy (CNB), 1364 by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), and 1062 by excision biopsy. Excision biopsy was significantly associated with more favorable tumor characteristics. Radiotherapy modified the prognostic impact of biopsy method (Pinteraction < .001). Following multivariable analysis, excision biopsy was consistently associated with lower risk of mortality compared to FNAC in women receiving adjuvant radiotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.81, 95%CI: 0.66-0.99), but not in those who did not receive adjuvant radiotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.87, 95%CI: 0.65-1.17). While the risk of mortality was not different between patients undergoing FNAC and CNB when radiotherapy is administered, in the absence of radiotherapy, CNB was associated with higher risk of mortality than FNAC (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.57, 95%CI: 1.16-2.12). Given that our results contradict with findings of previous clinical studies assessing the prognostic impact of method of biopsy in women with breast cancer, further studies are warranted.

Concordance of immunohistochemistry between core needle biopsy and surgical resection of breast cancer

Background/aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concordance of immunohistochemical (IHC) parameters of breast lesions between the core needle biopsy (CNB) and the surgical resection specimen. Materials and methods: CNB and resection specimens of female patients were retrospectively analyzed. ER, PR, HER-2, and Ki-67 parameters were compared for each patient. A total of 284 cases were assessed. Forty-one and 48 cases were excluded from the HER-2 and Ki-67 examinations, respectively, because the CNBs did not allow for IHC. Results: Concordance rates were 93.3% for ER, 89.4% for PR, 90.1% for HER-2, and 80.9% for Ki-67.Conclusion: CNB is accurate for the evaluation of the surrogate molecular profile of invasive breast cancer despite the heterogeneity of tumors.