Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Breast Cancer Patients with History of Appendectomy

Abstract

There are epidemiologic data that tonsillectomy increase many types of cancer, including breast cancer. In the literature it is stated that the clinical and pathological features of breast cancer with a history of tonsillectomy are different from the others. This study investigates the clinical and pathological characteristics of breast cancer patients with a history of tonsillectomy. In this study, 985 consecutive breast cancer patients presenting at the Hacettepe University Institute of Oncology between 2004 and 2009 were evaluated retrospectively. Past history of any surgery including tonsillectomy was recorded in our electronic database. Of the 985 patients, 22 (2.2%) had a history of tonsillectomy. Median ages of breast cancer diagnosis in patients with and without tonsillectomy history were 56 and 48 years, respectively (p1⁄4 0.061). As many as 27.3% of patients who had undergone tonsillectomy and 48.2% of patients without history of tonsillectomy were pre-menopausal at diagnosis (p1⁄4 0.110). Therewere no triple negative patients in the tonsillectomy group but the ratio in the other group was 15.8% (p1⁄4 0.051). The HER2/neu positivity was more in the tonsillectomy group (35.0% vs. 20.8%, p1⁄4 0.16). A multivariate analysis included tonsillectomy history, menopausal status, HER2/neu status and age at breast cancer diagnosis for our model was made. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified no statistically significant independent factors for higher frequency of HER2/neu positivity and no triple negativity in breast cancer patients with tonsillectomy. There were no statistical differences in oestrogen and progesterone receptor positivity, neural invasion, extracapsular extension,