Biomedical subjects

Carol A Reynolds

Publications and source records attributed to Carol A Reynolds.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Age-related lobular involution and risk of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: As women age, the lobules in their breasts undergo involution or regression. We investigated whether lobular involution in women with benign breast disease was associated with subsequent breast cancer risk. METHODS: We examined biopsy specimens of 8736 women in the Mayo Benign Breast Disease Cohort from whom biopsy samples were taken between January 1, 1967, and December 31, 1991. Median follow-up for breast cancer outcomes was 17 years. We classified lobular involution in the background breast tissue as none (0% involuted lobules), partial (1%-74%), or complete (> or = 75%). Subsequent breast cancer events and data on other risk factors were obtained from medical records and follow-up questionnaires. To estimate relative risks (RRs), standardized incidence ratios were calculated by use of incidence rates from the Iowa Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Registry. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Distribution of extent of involution was none among 1627 (18.6%) women, partial among 5197 (59.5%), and complete among 1912 (21.9%). Increased involution was positively associated with increased age and inversely associated with parity (both P<.001). The relative risk for the entire cohort of 8736 women, compared with the Iowa SEER population, was 1.40 (95% CI = 1.30 to 1.51). Risk of breast cancer was associated with the extent of involution (for no involution, RR [i.e., observed versus expected] = 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.59 to 2.21; for partial involution, RR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.33 to 1.61; and for complete involution, RR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.75 to 1.10; test for heterogeneity P<.001). Lobular involution modified risk in all subsets (e.g., among women with atypia, for no involution, RR = 7.79, 95% CI = 3.56 to 14.81; for partial involution, RR = 4.06, 95% CI = 3.03 to 5.33; and for complete involution, RR = 1.49, 95% CI = 0.41 to 3.82; P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort of women with benign breast disease, lobular involution was associated with reduced risk of breast cancer. Aberrant involution may be a biologically important phenomenon in breast cancer biology.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

A two-gene expression ratio of homeobox 13 and interleukin-17B receptor for prediction of recurrence and survival in women receiving adjuvant tamoxifen.

PURPOSE: In the adjuvant treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, additional markers are needed to identify women at high risk for recurrence. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We examined the association between the ratio of the homeobox 13 (HOXB13) to interleukin-17B receptor (IL-17BR) expression and the clinical outcomes of relapse and survival in women with ER-positive breast cancer enrolled onto a North Central Cancer Treatment Group adjuvant tamoxifen trial (NCCTG 89-30-52). RESULTS: Tumor blocks were obtained from 211 of 256 eligible patients, and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR profiles for HOXB13 and IL-17BR were obtained from 206 patients. The cut point for the two-gene log 2(expression ratio) that best discriminated clinical outcome (recurrence and survival) was selected and identified women with significantly worse relapse-free survival (RFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS), independent of standard prognostic markers. The cut point differed as a function of nodal status [node negative (59th percentile) versus node positive (90th percentile)]. In the node-positive cohort (n = 86), the HOXB13/IL-17BR ratio was not associated with relapse or survival. In contrast, in the node-negative cohort (n = 130), a high HOXB13/IL-17BR ratio was associated with significantly worse RFS [hazard ratio (HR), 1.98; P = 0.031], DFS (HR, 2.03; P = 0.015), and OS (HR, 2.4; P = 0.014), independent of standard prognostic markers. CONCLUSION: A high HOXB13/IL-17BR expression ratio is associated with increased relapse and death in patients with resected node-negative, ER-positive breast cancer treated with tamoxifen and may identify patients in whom alternative therapies should be studied.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Primary mammary (non-Hodgkin) lymphoma presenting as locally advanced breast cancer.

Primary mammary lymphoma is a rare tumor that presents commonly as a large mass with no specific mammographic appearance and can be confused with poorly differentiated carcinoma on frozen section. With appropriate treatment, this breast malignancy has a relatively good prognosis. We report a case of primary mammary non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a 74-year-old woman that originally presented as locally advanced breast cancer with secondary inflammatory skin changes. Clinical findings, diagnostic work-up, and follow-up are provided along with a review of the literature on primary mammary lymphoma.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Mastopathy and diabetes.

Sclerosing lymphocytic lobulitis or "diabetic mastopathy" is strongly associated with type 1 diabetes but may occur occasionally in its absence. It is characterized by keloid-type fibrosis, lymphocytic lobulitis, and perivasculitis and epithelioid cells. Infiltrating cells are predominantly B lymphocytes. It may be associated with retinopathy and neuropathy, but more research is needed to verify this association. The etiopathogenesis is unknown and the disorder does not seem to predispose to breast carcinoma or lymphoma.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Primary nonphylloides breast sarcomas.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of primary breast sarcoma is low, occurring in fewer than 1% of women with breast malignancies. The purpose of this study was to examine the presentation, treatment, and prognosis of patients presenting with these neoplasms. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of patients with a primary breast sarcoma treated at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, between 1975 and 2001. Follow-up information was obtained. RESULTS: Of the 55 patients, 17 had breast-conserving therapy and 38 women had mastectomy. The mean patient age at presentation was 52 years (range 22 to 82). The types of sarcoma included angiosarcoma (18), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (11), stromal sarcoma (8), liposarcoma (4), leiomyosarcoma (4), dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (4), osteosarcoma (3), fibrosarcoma (2), and rhabdomyosarcoma (1). Follow-up information was available for 53 patients, with a mean follow-up of 81 months. Twenty-nine of 53 patients (55%) developed recurrent sarcoma, and 23 patients (43%) died of their disease. Twenty-seven patients had no evidence of recurrence, and 3 patients were alive with disease at last follow-up. Overall median survival of patients with breast sarcoma was 58 months. Patients with angiosarcoma had a poorer outcome than other sarcoma patients. Twelve of 18 patients (67%) died of angiosarcoma, compared with 11 of 32 patients (34%) of all other sarcoma patients combined. Of 34 patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation, 13 died of their disease (38%), as compared with 10 of 16 patients (63%) who did receive adjuvant therapy. CONCLUSIONS: While primary nonphylloides breast sarcomas are rare tumors, their treatment and prognosis are poor. Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation did not improve survival in this report. Surgical extirpation remains the only effective treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

HER2 testing in patients with breast cancer: poor correlation between weak positivity by immunohistochemistry and gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate amplification of the HER-2/neu gene by fluorescence ir situ hybridization (FISH) in tumors with weakly positive (2+) immunohistochemical staining. METHODS: A total of 1556 breast tumor biopsy specimens were referred to Mayo Medical Laboratories, Rochester, Minn, for HER2 testing between August and December 2000. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was performed with use of a diagnostic test for the assessment of HER2 overexpression, the HercepTest. The IHC-stained slides were interpreted and scored on a scale ranging from 0 to 3+ according to Food and Drug Administration-approved guidelines. All specimens scored as 2+ were also routinely evaluated by FISH with use of a HER-2/neu DNA probe kit (PathVysion). Specimens were determined to be amplified if the ratio of HER-2/neu signals to chromosome 17 centromere (CEP17) signals was higher than 2.0. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of the specimens evaluated with the HercepTest were scored 0, 35% were 1+, 14% were 2+, and 13% were 3+. Of the 216 tumor specimens scored as 2+, 26 (12%) had a high level of HER-2/neu gene amplification, 54 (25%) demonstrated duplication of HER2, 4 (2%) deleted HER-2/neu and/or CEP17, and 123 (57%) had no apparent HER-2/neu anomaly, no apparent CEP17 anomaly, nor apparent single gain (aneusomy) of CEP17. CONCLUSION: We recommend that all specimens with a 2+ HercepTest result be evaluated by FISH for HER-2/neu gene amplification. The results of both assays should be considered before making a decision to recommend anti-HER2 therapy.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗