Contemporary surgical management of inflammatory breast cancer: a narrative review

New Strategies for Locally Advanced Breast Cancer: A Review of Inflammatory Breast Cancer and Nonresponders

This review explores the new strategies around the management of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), particularly for nonresponsive tumors and/or initially unresectable tumors at diagnosis, inclusive of inflammatory breast cancer. Nonresponders to neoadjuvant systemic therapy present a unique clinical challenge. Emerging medical therapeutics as well as considerations for use of radiotherapy and/or surgery in this setting are discussed. Specifically, the use of neoadjuvant radiotherapy for LABC and lymphedema prevention with lymphatic reconstruction following axillary lymph node dissection are reviewed.

In situ injectable hydrogel encapsulating Mn/NO-based immune nano-activator for prevention of postoperative tumor recurrence

Postoperative tumor recurrence remains a predominant cause of treatment failure. In this study, we developed an in situ injectable hydrogel, termed MPB-NO@DOX + ATRA gel, which was locally formed within the tumor resection cavity. The MPB-NO@DOX + ATRA gel was fabricated by mixing a thrombin solution, a fibrinogen solution containing all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and a Mn/NO-based immune nano-activator termed MPB-NO@DOX. ATRA promoted the differentiation of cancer stem cells, inhibited cancer cell migration, and affected the polarization of tumor-associated macrophages. The outer MnO2 shell disintegrated due to its reaction with glutathione and hydrogen peroxide in the cytoplasm to release Mn2+ and produce O2, resulting in the release of doxorubicin (DOX). The released DOX entered the nucleus and destroyed DNA, and the fragmented DNA cooperated with Mn2+ to activate the cGAS-STING pathway and stimulate an anti-tumor immune response. In addition, when MPB-NO@DOX was exposed to 808 nm laser irradiation, the Fe-NO bond was broken to release NO, which downregulated the expression of PD-L1 on the surface of tumor cells and reversed the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In conclusion, the MPB-NO@DOX + ATRA gel exhibited excellent anti-tumor efficacy. The results of this study demonstrated the great potential of in situ injectable hydrogels in preventing postoperative tumor recurrence.

Inflammatory breast cancer: As surgical oncologists, what can we do?

Breast cancer surgery is the primary treatment for early-stage breast cancer. However, inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), with its specific presentation characterized by skin invasion, is unfit for primary surgery. According to the different guidelines, the management of IBC is trimodal with the coordination of oncologists, surgeons, and radiation therapists. Advances in breast cancer imaging and the development of more targeted therapies make new challenges for this aggressive cancer. This chapter aims to provide an update on the role of surgery in IBC. Radical surgery is still considered the standard surgical treatment in IBC. Some authors suggest a conservative surgery in patients with a clinical response to chemotherapy without affecting survival. For lymph node surgery, the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is not feasible in IBC patients, according to the existing studies. However, prospective studies on SLNB are needed to verify its reliability after chemotherapy for a specific group of patients. In the metastatic IBC, surgery can be considered if there is a good response after chemotherapy or for uncontrolled symptoms. Existing studies showed that surgery may impact survival for these patients. Prospective studies are mandatory to optimize IBC management, considering factors such as tumor's molecular profile.

Identification of barriers at the primary care provider level to improve inflammatory breast cancer diagnosis and management

The purpose of this study, based in the United States, was to evaluate knowledge gaps and barriers related to diagnosis and care of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a rare but lethal breast cancer subtype, amongst Primary Care Providers (PCP) as they are often the first point of contact when patients notice initial symptoms. PCP participants in the Duke University Health System, federally qualified health center, corporate employee health and community practices, nearby academic medical center, Duke physician assistant and advanced practice nurse leadership program alumni were first selected in a convenience sample and for semi-structured interviews (n = 11). Based on these data, an online survey tool was developed and disseminated (n = 78) to assess salient measures of IBC diagnosis, health disparity factors, referral and care coordination practices, COVID-19 impact, and continuing medical education (CME). PCP reported access to care and knowledge gaps in symptom recognition (mean = 3.3, range 1-7) as major barriers. Only 31 % reported ever suspecting IBC in a patient. PCP (n = 49) responded being challenged with referral delays in diagnostic imaging. Additionally, since the COVID-19 pandemic started, 63 % reported breast cancer referral delays, and 33 % reported diagnosing less breast cancer. PCP stated interest in CME in their practice for improved diagnosis and patient care, which included online (53 %), lunch time or other in-service training (33 %), patient and provider-facing websites (32 %). Challenges communicating rare cancer information, gaps in confidence in diagnosing IBC, and timely follow-up with patients and specialists underscores the need for developing PCP educational modules to improve guideline-concordant care.

Risk-dependent conditional survival analysis and annual hazard rate of inflammatory breast cancer

PURPOSE

The real-time prognosis of patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) after surviving for several years was unclear. We aimed to estimate survival over time in IBC using conditional survival (CS) and annual hazard functions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This study recruited 679 patients diagnosed with IBC between 2010 and 2019 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate overall survival (OS). CS was the probability of surviving for another y years after surviving for x years after the diagnosis, and the annual hazard rate was the cumulative mortality rate of follow-up patients. Cox regression analyses were used to identify prognostic factors, and changes in real-time survival and immediate mortality in surviving patients were assessed within these prognostic factors.

RESULTS

CS analysis showed real-time improvement in survival, with 5-year OS updated annually from the initial 43.5% to 52.2%, 65.3%, 78.5%, and 89.0% (surviving 1-4 years, respectively). However, this improvement was relatively small in the first two years after diagnosis, and the smoothed annual hazard rate curve showed increasing mortality during this period. Cox regression identified seven unfavorable factors at diagnosis, but only distant metastases remained after five years of survival. Analysis of the annual hazard rate curves showed that mortality continued to decrease for most survivors, except for metastatic IBC.

CONCLUSION

Real-time survival of IBC improved dynamically over time, and the magnitude of this improvement was non-linear, depending on survival time and clinicopathological characteristics.

Conservative Surgery in cT4 Breast Cancer: Single-Center Experience in the Neoadjuvant Setting

BACKGROUND

The diffusion of screening programs has resulted in a decrease of cT4 breast cancer diagnosis. The standard care for cT4 was neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NA), surgery, and locoregional or adjuvant systemic therapies. NA allows two outcomes: 1. improve survival rates, and 2. de-escalation of surgery. This de-escalation has allowed the introduction of conservative breast surgery (CBS). We evaluate the possibility of submitting cT4 patients to CBS instead of radical breast surgery (RBS) by assessing the risk of locoregional disease-free survival, (LR-DFS) distant disease-free survival (DDFS), and overall survival (OS).

METHODS

This monocentric, retrospective study evaluated cT4 patients submitted to NA and surgery between January 2014 and July 2021. The study population included patients undergoing CBS or RBS without immediate reconstruction. Survival curves were obtained using the Kaplan-Meyer method and compared using a Log Rank test.

RESULTS

At a follow-up of 43.7 months, LR-DFS was 70% and 75.9%, respectively, in CBS and RBS (p = 0.420). DDFS was 67.8% and 29.7%, respectively, (p = 0.122). OS was 69.8% and 59.8%, respectively, (p = 0.311).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with major or complete response to NA, CBS can be considered a safe alternative to RBS in the treatment of cT4a-d stage. In patients with poor response to NA, RBS remained the best surgical choice.

Assessing Knowledge and Barriers at the Primary Care Provider Level that Contribute to Disparities in Inflammatory Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge gaps and barriers related to diagnosis and care of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a rare but most lethal breast cancer subtype, amongst Primary Care Providers (PCP) as they are often the first point of contact when patients notice initial symptoms.

Methods

PCP participants within Duke University Health System, federally qualified health center, corporate employee health and community practices, nearby academic medical center, Duke physician assistant, and nurse leadership program alumni were first selected in a convenience sample (n=11) for semi-structured interviews (n=11). Based on these data, an online survey tool was developed and disseminated (n=78) to assess salient measures of IBC diagnosis, health disparity factors, referral and care coordination practices, COVID impact, and continued medical education (CME).

Results

PCP reported access to care and knowledge gaps in symptom recognition (mean = 3.3, range 1-7) as major barriers. Only 31% reported ever suspecting IBC in a patient. PCP (n=49) responded being challenged with referral delays in diagnostic imaging. Additionally, since the COVID-19 pandemic started, 63% reported breast cancer referral delays, and 33% reported diagnosing less breast cancer. PCP stated interest in CME in their practice for improved diagnosis and patient care, which included online (53%), lunch time or other in-service training (33%), patient and provider-facing websites (32%).

Conclusions

Challenges communicating rare cancer information, gaps in confidence in diagnosing IBC, and timely follow-up with patients and specialists underscores the need for developing PCP educational modules to improve guideline-concordant care.