Diagnostic accuracy of axillary nodal ultrasound after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in node-positive breast cancer patients: A validation study

Objective: To determine the accuracy and false negative rate of axillary ultrasound compared to sentinel node biopsy. Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from February 1 to March 31, 2021, and comprised data of breast cancer patients who had undergone neo-adjuvant chemotherapy followed by axillary lymph node dissection or axillary disease diagnosed using lymph node biopsy or sentinel lymph node biopsy between January 1, 2016, and December 30, 2020. After receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, axillary ultrasound findings were compared with histopathology of lymph nodes. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. Results: Of the 155 patients evaluated, 104(67.1%) were diagnosed with negative axillary lymph nodes and 51(32.9%) were diagnosed with positive axillary lymph nodes post-chemotherapy. The overall mean age was 51.13±1.3 years. When histopathology results were compared with those of axillary ultrasound, 36(23.2%) cases turned out to be true positive, while 23(14,8%) were false negative, yielding a positive predictive value of 75% and negative predictive value of 65%. Axillary ultrasound had 75% accuracy, false negative rate 30%, sensitivity 61% and specificity 84.4%. Conclusions: Axillary ultrasound was found to be fairly useful, but not completely reliable, in identifying positive lymph nodes

Current perspectives of oncoplastic breast surgery in Pakistan

Oncoplastic breast surgery is based on the concept of tumour-specific immediate reconstruction. It combines both local and distant techniques to maintain breast texture, symmetry and cosmesis without compromising oncological outcome. The current narrative review was planned to highlight the current state and future of oncoplastic breast surgery in low- and middle-income countries where its utilisation in surgical practice remains insubstantial because majority of the surgeons who are treating breast cancer are either general surgeons or breast surgeons who do not have expertise in oncoplastic breast surgery or reconstructive surgery. Moreover, scarcity of financial resources, ignorance about oncoplastic breast surgery techniques, disfigurement distress and cultural taboos coerce women to hide in the shadows with their breast disease. Oncoplastic breast surgery needs more exposure in a developing country like Pakistan. There is a need to establish dedicated oncoplastic breast surgery training centres, fellowship programmes, workshops, and webinars to incorporate such techniques in the practice of breast surgeons

Telementoring for breast surgeons practicing in remote areas

Telementorship allows an expert surgeon to mentor another surgeon through an advanced procedure from a remote location via 2-way audio-visual communication. The current article was planned to review the existing literature and evaluate the utility of telementorship regarding educating rural surgeons in Pakistan about multidisciplinary breast cancer care. Publications from 2016 to 2020 were searched on PubMed and GoogleScholar and 10 most recent publications were selected. Review of literature revealed that even though telementorship in this context might be comparable to onsite mentorship, multiple concerns need to be addressed before its implementation. These include lack of concrete evidence regarding its effectiveness, legal, security and financial issues. Thus, a pilot project evaluating the efficacy of telementorship needs to be conducted for rural breast surgeons working in Pakistan. If these studies show promise and an affordable, convenient and effective method of telementorship is devised, then it may become the future of breast surgery training in far-flung regions of Pakistan

Case report: Axilla fibroadenoma - An atypical presentation

INTRODUCTION: Fibroadenoma is the most common benign breast tumor among women between 15 and 35 years, however, a fibroadenoma arising from accessory breast tissue is a rare occurrence. CASE PRESENTATION: We encountered this uncommon presentation in a 37 years old female with a gradually increasing left axillary lump associated with discomfort. On ultrasound it was a 17.3 mm × 10.6 mm x 17.5 mm well defined solid nodule with internal vascularity, BiRADS IVa lesion. Core biopsy revealed fibroepithelial lesion and the patient electively underwent excisional biopsy. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of fibroadenoma, which was completely excised. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Approximately half of all breast lumps in women are diagnosed as fibroadenomas, making it the most common benign breast mass. Nonetheless, an axillary mass has several differentials such as lymphadenopathy, lipoma or sebaceous cyst, while a fibroadenoma developed from ectopic breast tissue in the axilla is an unusual condition. Masses in axilla like ectopic breast tissue are clinically significant as they undergo physiological changes like the normal breast tissue like pain and discomfort during pregnancy, lactation and menstruation. This tissue may also undergo pathological changes and may pose a diagnostic challenge. CONCLUSION: Axillary lumps pose a diagnostic dilemma and accessory breast tissue related pathologies should be considered

Quality of life of breast cancer survivors: A comparison of breast conserving surgery versus total mastectomy with and without immediate reconstruction: A prospective cohort study

Quality of life after breast cancer surgery is frequently ignored during and after treatment in many cancer survivors. To enhance this aspect of patient\u27s life should be the primary goal of every cancer treatment. Therefore, the present study aimed to highlight the quality of life and patients\u27 satisfaction with their breast cosmesis following breast conserving surgery (BCS), total mastectomy with and without reconstruction.Material and methods: Data were collected prospectively from cancer patients who had undergone breast surgery at our institution from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2021. The validated Breast-Q questionnaires were utilized for conducting patient interviews and mean scores between three cohorts were compared using one-way ANOVA test / Kruskal-Wallis test.Results: Overall, 210 patients were recruited in which 70 patients (33.3%) had undergone BCS, 71 patients (33.8%) had total mastectomy only and 69 (32.9%) patients had total mastectomy with reconstruction. Physical well-being scores were consistent between the three groups while patients operated with total mastectomy with reconstructive surgery scored higher in sexual and psychosocial health measures as compared to patients of total mastectomy. However, BCS patients were the most satisfied with their cosmetic outcome following patients of total mastectomy with reconstruction and without reconstruction.Conclusion: Reconstruction postmastectomy has a positive impact on sexual and psychosocial well-being of survivors; however, those who had breast conservation were more satisfied with cosmetic outcome post-surgery as compared with mastectomy with or without reconstruction