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Susan K Boolbol

Publications and source records attributed to Susan K Boolbol.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Intra-operative touch preparation cytology; does it have a role in re-excision lumpectomy?

OBJECTIVE: Breast carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women of North America. The combination of breast conservation surgery and radiotherapy has become a standard of treatment for the majority of breast cancers. It is critical to obtain clear margins to minimize local recurrence. However, avoiding multiple re-excisions for margin clearance helps optimize cosmetic results in patients undergoing breast conservation surgery. Intra-operative touch preparation cytology (IOTPC) may decrease the need for multiple re-excisions and thereby improve cosmesis. The literature suggests that IOTPC can be useful in evaluation of margins. Klimberg et al. evaluated the touch preparation technique prospectively in 428 patients undergoing breast biopsy for undiagnosed breast masses. Margin evaluation was correct in 100% of the lesions and was used to re-excise the margins when touch prep results were positive. They reported a diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100% for the touch prep technique. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no published data on the role of IOTPC for evaluation of margins in re-excision cases. This report describes our experience with IOTPC for margin assessment for re-excision partial mastectomy at Beth Israel Medical Center (BIMC). The purpose of this study is to determine whether IOTPC is reliable for evaluating margins in patients undergoing re-excision for involved or close margins. METHODS: A prospective study of 30 patients, who have undergone re-excision partial mastectomy for involved or close margins after breast conservation surgery with the use of IOTPC for margin assessment at BIMC was performed. The re-excision lumpectomy specimens were oriented by the surgeon intra-operatively and were submitted fresh to pathology for cytologic assessment. The touch prep method consisted of touching the corresponding margin onto the glass slide. The principle of this technique is that if cancer cells are present they will stick to the slide, while fat cells will not. A slide was prepared for each re-excision specimen. Air-dried samples were stained immediately using the Diff-Quik method and examined under the microscope by a cytopathologist. RESULTS: Thirty patients underwent re-excision lumpectomy for involved or close margins with touch preparation cytology for assessment of 68 margins. Twenty-six patients had invasive ductal carcinoma and/or ductal carcinoma in situ, three patients had invasive lobular carcinoma and the remaining one patient had a combination of invasive lobular and ductal carcinoma. There was a correlation between touch prep cytology and final pathology in 56/68 margins, which accounts for 82.4% of the cases. CONCLUSION: Intra-operative touch preparation cytology for assessment of margins in patients undergoing re-excision lumpectomy for involved or close margins has a sensitivity of 75%, specificity of 82.8%, positive predictive value of 21.4%, and negative predictive value of 98.2%. This high negative predictive value and a single false negative margin are quite significant. Therefore, based on our experience, IOTPC can be a useful tool for intra-operative assessment of margins for patients undergoing re-excision partial mastectomy.

Biopsy↗
PubMed2006

Clinical Experience With Mammary Ductoscopy.

BACKGROUND: Most breast cancers begin in the ductal epithelium with normal cells and progress to atypia and finally to carcinoma. Mammary ductoscopy enables one to directly visualize and sample the ductal epithelium and, therefore, identify early changes cytologically. This article describes our initial experience with mammary ductoscopy at Beth Israel Medical Center. METHODS: A prospective review of all patients who underwent ductoscopy at Beth Israel Medical Center from November 2001 to February 2004 was performed. The indications for ductoscopy were a persistent nipple discharge, high-risk status, or intraoperative margin assessment in patients undergoing lumpectomy. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients underwent ductoscopic evaluation of 88 ducts. Of the 32 patients who underwent office ductoscopy, 15 were high risk, and 17 had spontaneous nipple discharge. Spontaneous nipple discharge was the indication for ductoscopy in 40 of 42 intraoperative procedures. The remaining two patients underwent ductoscopy for margin assessment during breast conservation, and final pathologic analysis revealed negative margins. Thirty-eight of the 40 patients who had spontaneous nipple discharge had abnormal findings during ductoscopy and therefore underwent ductoscopically guided duct excision. Carcinoma was the final diagnosis in 5 (8.8%) of the 57 patients who were scoped for nipple discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Mammary ductoscopy is a potentially useful tool in the evaluation of patients with spontaneous nipple discharge. This is a well-tolerated office procedure with minimal risks and complications. Mammary ductoscopy may have a role in the assessment of high-risk women. Further research is necessary to confirm these potential applications.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2006

Less is more: transmammary axillary lymph node evaluation: an initial clinical experience.

BACKGROUND: Standard axillary node dissection has the potential to cause a significant amount of morbidity. Sentinel lymph node biopsy has considerably decreased this rate of morbidity; however, data recently presented, based on ACOSOG Z-10, suggest that even this less invasive technique can have a lymphedema rate as high as 7%. The transmammary axillary lymph node evaluation procedure (TANE) removes the sentinel node via the breast incision, thus eliminating the axillary incision. This may decrease morbidity, including lymphedema, dyesthesias, pain, and loss of range of motion, and it will also improve cosmetic outcome. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study to determine if it is feasible to perform both the partial mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy via a single incision. All patients were consented for a partial mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy. The partial mastectomy was performed in the standard fashion. The sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed via the same incision either before or after the breast specimen was removed. The sentinel lymph node biopsy was then performed in the standard fashion. RESULTS: The TANE method was attempted in 44 patients from June 2005 to March 2006 and was successful in 43, for a rate of 97.73%. The mean age of the patients was 57.6 years, with a range of 34 to 82 years. The average tumor size was 1.57 cm, with a range of 0.4 cm to 4.5 cm. The TANE procedure was performed most often in patients with tumors located in the upper outer quadrant (79.54%). There were no perioperative complications. CONCLUSION: Our prospective study showed that this is a feasible procedure for sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection. The number of sentinel and axillary nodes obtained was within the standard published norms. Our technical success rate was 97.33%, and we did not have any perioperative complications. In this pilot study, there was the cosmetic benefit of only 1 incision. Future studies will examine if the TANE procedure can objectively decrease morbidity compared to a separate axillary incision.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Association of breast cancer with papillary lesions identified at percutaneous image-guided breast biopsy.

BACKGROUND: The management of papillary lesions identified on image-guided breast biopsy remains controversial. In the literature, data regarding papillary lesions are limited because of small sample sizes. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of atypical ductal hyperplasia and malignancy associated with papillary lesions identified on image-guided breast biopsy. METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of 9,310 consecutive image-guided biopsies performed at our institution between January 1996 and November 2003. Patients were included if they underwent an excisional biopsy after a papillary lesion was diagnosed on image-guided biopsy. RESULTS: Papillary lesions were identified in 153 (2%) of the 9,310 image-guided biopsies performed, and 87 of these patients underwent subsequent excisional biopsy at our institution. Breast cancer (in situ or invasive) was identified in 15 patients (17%), and 16 patients (18%) had atypical ductal hyperplasia identified at excisional biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that excisional biopsy should be considered when a papillary lesion is identified at percutaneous image-guided breast biopsy. The final surgical pathology may impact the treatment plan, risk reduction, and/or surveillance for more than a third of patients diagnosed with a papillary lesion on image-guided biopsy.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed2003

A nomogram for predicting the likelihood of additional nodal metastases in breast cancer patients with a positive sentinel node biopsy.

BACKGROUND: The standard of care for breast cancer patients with sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases includes complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). However, many question the need for complete ALND in every patient with detectable SLN metastases, particularly those perceived to have a low risk of non-SLN metastases. Accurate estimates of the likelihood of additional disease in the axilla could assist greatly in decision-making regarding further treatment. METHODS: Pathological features of the primary tumor and SLN metastases of 702 patients who underwent complete ALND were assessed with multivariable logistic regression to predict the presence of additional disease in the non-SLNs of these patients. A nomogram was created using pathological size, tumor type and nuclear grade, lymphovascular invasion, multifocality, and estrogen-receptor status of the primary tumor; method of detection of SLN metastases; number of positive SLNs; and number of negative SLNs. The model was subsequently applied prospectively to 373 patients. RESULTS: The nomogram for the retrospective population was accurate and discriminating, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.76. When applied to the prospective group, the model accurately predicted likelihood of non-SLN disease (ROC, 0.77). CONCLUSIONS: We have developed a user-friendly nomogram that uses information commonly available to the surgeon to easily and accurately calculate the likelihood of having additional, non-SLN metastases for an individual patient.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Randomized clinical trials in breast cancer.

Before the second half of this century, treatment approaches to breast cancer were radical and disfiguring. In the past four decades, however, multiple prospective randomized trials have made highly significant advances in the management of patients with this disease. These trials have established, in select patients, breast conservation therapy as a primary therapeutic procedure, and radiation therapy as a means to improve local control and survival. This article provides an overview of some of these trials.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postlactational microcalcifications.

A case of postlactational microcalcifications is reported. A 42-year-old woman presented for screening mammography 2 months after completion of breast-feeding. Comparison to her pregravid screening mammogram revealed the appearance of multiple groups of indeterminate microcalcifications bilaterally (BIRADS IV). She underwent bilateral stereotactic core biopsies of representative areas, yielding benign pathology. There have been anecdotal accounts and five reported cases of lactational microcalcifications in the radiology literature. We discuss the possible etiologies as well as implications of this mammographic finding.

Adult↗