Goal Of Breast-conserving Surgery Research Articles

Abstract P3-13-04: 18F-FDG micro-PET/CT for intraoperative margin assessment in breast conserving surgery using: A proof-of-concept study

Abstract Positive surgical margins represent a high risk for adverse clinical outcome in breast conserving surgery (BCS). Therefore, the goal of BCS is to avoid positive margins and hence avoid reoperation. Unfortunately, most studies currently assess the rate of positive resection margins at 20%. This is in part due to the lack of a time- and cost-effective method for intraoperative margin assessment, which would enable the prediction of positive margins during the initial surgery. We propose to address this problem by performing intraoperative high-resolution 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) with X-ray computed tomography (CT). This method relies on the high sensitivity of FDG-PET for detecting metabolically active tumor tissue, and the delineation of the anatomical margins of the specimen using CT. In this proof-of-concept study we assess the feasibility of this technique. Twenty patients with breast cancer that were eligible to undergo BCS were enrolled in the study after providing informed consent. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ghent University Hospital. Prior to surgery each patient was administered 4 MBq/kg of FDG. Surgery was performed 2-4 hours after tracer administration. Following surgical excision the breast specimen was oriented with sutures and micro-PET/CT images were obtained using the MOLECUBES β-CUBE (PET) and X-CUBE (CT). The scan time was 10 minutes on PET and 3 minutes on CT. The specimen was then sent for histopathological assessment. Micro-PET/CT images were analyzed using an automated algorithm. Briefly, this algorithm defined the contour of the tumor as the region with high FDG uptake and the contour of the specimen based on the CT image. The margin status of a specimen was positive if the distance between the contour of the tumor and specimen was 0 mm. Images were also analyzed postoperatively by two surgeons blinded to the histopathological and algorithm analysis results. The sensitivity and specificity of the proposed method were then calculated by comparing to the histopathological results, which is the gold standard for margin status assessment. In all samples a region with high FDG uptake was visualized, which corresponded to the tumor on histopathological. In one specific case a small satellite lesion with high FDG uptake, 3 mm in diameter, was detected on the micro-PET images at a distance from the main tumor. Histopathological confirmed that this previously undetected lesion was a second invasive carcinoma. For margin status, a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 75% were obtained using automated algorithm analysis. Sensitivity and specificity obtained based on surgeons' analysis was 62,5% and 75% for surgeon A and 87,5% and 91,7% for surgeon B respectively. Taking into account the intra-operative micro-PET results could theoretically have reduced the reoperation rate by 75%. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that high-resolution intraoperative FDG-PET/CT is a promising technique for intraoperative margin assessment in BCS that could allow to reduce re-excision rate. This technique achieves both sufficient sensitivity and specificity with minimal disruption of intraoperative workflow. Citation Format: Marcinkowski R, Keereman V, Van Holen R, Vandenberghe S, Van Bockstal M, Van Dorpe J, Brans B, Goker M, Depypere H, Van den Broecke R. 18F-FDG micro-PET/CT for intraoperative margin assessment in breast conserving surgery using: A proof-of-concept study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-13-04.

Factors Associated with Persistently Positive Margin Status after Breast-Conserving Surgery in Women with Breast Cancer: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database

Margin status after definitive breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is a key predictor of local tumor recurrence. This study utilized the National Cancer Database, which captures 70 per cent of all cancer cases nationally, to determine factors associated with persistently positive margins status post-BCS. From 1998 to 2010, there were 1,170,284 patients with stage 0 to 3 breast cancer who underwent BCS. After final definitive surgery, 7.3 per cent of patients had positive margins. On bivariate analysis, persistently positive margin status post-BCS was correlated with patient age, race, ethnicity, comorbidities, facility type and location, tumor size, grade, presence of invasive disease, lymph node positivity, as well as receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation therapy (P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, patients who were black, with multiple comorbidities, living in a Pacific state, who had larger, high-grade, node-positive invasive tumors, who did not receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and who did not receive adjuvant radiation therapy were more likely to have persistently positive margins (P < 0.05). Although the goal of BCS is the attainment of negative margins, 7.3 per cent of patients have persistently positive margins after definitive surgery. These patients tend to have more aggressive disease and greater comorbidities, and are less likely to receive adjuvant radiation therapy.

An Overview of Breast-Conserving Surgery in Breast Cancer Treatment

: Breast-conserving surgery is the preferred operation for the majority of women with stage I or II breast cancer. It consists of the removal of primary breast cancer with a rim of adjacent normal tissues and the axillary dissection. The goal of breast-conserving surgery is to control the local-regional disease without removing the entire breast and to provide an accurate pathologic staging of the tumor (T) and draining nodes (N). The primary outcomes of breast-conserving surgery in treating women with invasive breast cancer are measured by the survival rate, local disease control and cosmetic results. The consideration of the factors that have major impacts on the outcomes of this form of treatment are discussed. This article provides a framework for considering and performing breast-conserving surgery and for critically evaluating the literature dealing with the various issues involved in the treatment of women with early breast cancer.