Primary treatment in breast cancer.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E D Anderson.
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Eighty-eight patients presenting with operable breast cancer of 4 cm or greater in diameter (T2, T3, N0, N1, M0) have received primary systemic therapy. Response was assessed following 12 weeks of systemic therapy by linear regression analysis of changes in tumour volume. Definitive locoregional surgery (mastectomy n = 82, wide local excision n = 6) was performed on completion of systemic therapy (3-6 months). Response was observed in 24 (39%) of the 61 patients who received endocrine therapy; all 24 had tumours with an oestrogen receptor (ER) concentration of greater than or equal to 20 fmol mb-1 cytosol protein. Cytotoxic therapy was reserved for patients with tumours of ER concentration less than 20 fmol mg-1 cytosol protein (n = 27) or when endocrine therapy had failed (n = 20). Response was observed in 34 patients (72%). The overall survival rate at 3 years was 86%, with 81% remaining free from local relapse. We propose that the treatment policy outlined in this paper should now be tested against orthodox management by controlled randomised trial.
The use of primary systemic chemotherapy for the treatment of 'operable' breast cancer evolved from the need to improve the outlook of patients with disease that is locally advanced but apparently without metastases. Trials are now showing that this can also be a worthwhile approach to the treatment of primary breast cancer in the elderly.
The effect of systemic therapy on tumour oestrogen receptor (ER) concentration has been studied in 88 patients with large, operable, primary tumours (total 89) of the breast. In 26 patients, tumour was not available for study on one occasion (usually post-treatment). Forty-five patients were treated initially by endocrine therapy but, of these, 13 who had failed to respond went on to receive chemotherapy also. Seventeen patients with low concentrations of ER (less than 20 fmol mg-1 protein) were treated directly by chemotherapy. Patients underwent an incisional biopsy for confirmation of diagnosis and determination of pre-treatment ER by radioligand binding assay, followed by systemic therapy for 3 months (or 6 months for both endocrine and cytotoxic therapies). Response was assessed clinically and mammographically before mastectomy. ER concentration was then determined in the post-treatment tumour specimen. No significant change in ER concentration was seen in any treatment group except when the patients had received tamoxifen; there, receptor concentration fell to very low levels, presumably due to interference with the assay. There was no relationship between tumour response to systemic treatment and change in ER concentration. It is concluded that changes in ER concentration are unlikely to play a major role in the early response of breast tumours to systemic therapy.
Forty-three patients with large (greater than or equal to 4 cm) but operable carcinoma of the breast have been treated by endocrine manipulation before definitive local surgery. This has allowed the study of the relationship between response to therapy and pretreatment oestrogen receptor (ER) concentration, as measured by a dextran-coated charcoal adsorption method. Premenopausal patients (17) were treated by surgical (4) or medical (13) oophorectomy. Post-menopausal patients (26) received either tamoxifen (10) or an aromatase inhibitor (16). Response was assessed from statistical analysis of the changes in tumour size. On completion of 12 weeks of endocrine therapy, there was significant regression of tumour size in 18 of the 43 patients. All 18 patients had tumours with ER concentrations of greater than or equal to 20 fmol mg-1 cytosol protein. Conversely all patients except one progressing on treatment had tumours with ER concentrations of less than 20 fmol mg-1 cytosol protein. This relationship applied for both premenopausal and post-menopausal patients. The overall response rate of patients with tumours of ER concentration greater than or equal to 20 fmol mg-1 cytosol protein was 60%.
The aim of this study was to determine whether a subcuticular absorbable suture (polydioxanone acid, PDS, Ethicon, UK) was superior to a subcuticular non-absorbable suture (Prolene, Ethicon, UK) for day-case breast biopsy performed under local anaesthesia. After breast biopsy, the type of subcuticular suture to be used was randomized in 100 patients. In all other respects the surgery and written postoperative instructions were similar for the group. Patients were reviewed over two visits by one independent observer who was unaware of the suture utilized (median 10 days and 52 days after surgery). Three patients had incomplete documentation and four patients failed to attend for either visit: thus 47 and 46 patients in the Prolene and PDS groups, respectively, were assessed. There was no difference between the Prolene and PDS groups, respectively, in the median interval to either the first shower or removal of the original plaster. There were three wound infections (one with Prolene, two with PDS). At the first visit three patients in the Prolene group had their incision uncovered, compared to 20 patients in the PDS group. In the PDS group a buried knot eroded through the incision in eight patients (17%). In this study the expected advantages of an absorbable suture were not confirmed.
A total of 98 breast aspirates from patients with breast cancer have been fixed and stained for oestrogen receptors using the Abbott ERICA kit. In a preliminary series of 41 aspirates, cytochemical staining index (% cells staining x mean intensity) related to the receptor concentration determined biochemically on a subsequent biopsy with a correlation coefficient of +0.65. In a second series of 56 aspirates examined after lysis and cytocentrifugation, the correlation coefficient was +0.73. For 14 patients, the response of the primary tumour to endocrine therapy was assessed objectively by serial clinical and mammographic measurements (Forrest et al., 1986) and was found to relate strongly to the cytochemical staining of the initial aspirate. The potential and limitations of this technique are discussed.
To evaluate the effect of 32% dextran 70 instillation on intra-abdominal adhesion formation and intestinal leaks, 100 animals were prospectively, randomly, and blindly treated with a sham laparotomy (n = 10), sham plus 5 ml dextran (10), intestinal abrasion plus 2 ml (20) or 5 ml (20) of dextran or saline, or intestinal division and anastomosis plus 2 ml (20) or 5 ml (20) of dextran or saline. Autopsies were performed on the animals without knowledge of treatment group at the time of death or sacrifice at 2 weeks. Adhesions were graded 0 to 3, anastomoses were examined for leaks, and the peritoneal cavity was searched for abscesses or peritonitis. Anastomosis produced more severe adhesions than abrasion. Dextran significantly (P greater than 0.01) reduced adhesion formation but resulted in peritonitis (5/40) rather than abscess (7/40) as seen with saline.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.