Evaluation of Survival Rate and Pattern of Risk Factors and Recurrence Rate in Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with other Subtypes

Introduction: Breast cancer nowadays is one the major health issue especially in industrial population. Despite excessive researches in this regard, there is still no detailed and relevant information on the association between the risk factors of this cancer and its many outcomes. Due to increasing rate of breast cancer in Iran, including Yazd city, the present study was designed to evaluate the relationship between survival and recurrence rate with pattern of risk factors in breast cancer patients.Methods: This analytical study was conducted retrospectively on 333 patients with breast cancer during 8 years (2005-2013). Total survival and recurrence rates recorded in month for all samples, and then were analyzed and compared other obtained data. Chi-square and log rank were selected tests for analyzing and Kaplan-Meier was applicable curve for survival analyzing.Results: The mean age of subjects was 57.02 ± 12.32 years. The mean total survival rate was 93.15 ± 1.25 months (97.9%). The mean total recurrence rate was 84.59 ± 1.91 months (89.8%). The subgroups of breast cancer had no significant relationship with risk factors (P>0.05) though BMI and recurrence rate had significant relationship (P=0.045). Other risk factors had no significant relationship with total survival and recurrence rates. The mean duration of OCP (oral contraceptive pill) consumption was significantly more in the patients with ER-PR-Her2+ subgroup than other groups (P=0.03).  Conclusion: According the findings, BMI lower than 25 is strong prognostic factor for recurrence rate in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Because of high survival rate of patients with breast cancer during eight years, it is recommended to study on high survival period with larger sample sizes for accessing reliable evidence.

Near missed diagnosis of Merkel cell carcinoma in a young immunocompetent woman with a recurrent left‐arm mass: A case report

Key Clinical Message Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive neuroendocrine cancer that primarily affects the elderly, Caucasians, and the immunocompromised. We present a rare case of an immunocompetent young Iranian (non‐Caucasian) female with a small nodule on her left arm. The lesion was initially misdiagnosed as an infected cyst and was treated with antibiotics for 20 days before being surgically removed. Unfortunately, the lump regrew rapidly 2 weeks later, when she had a biopsy, which revealed stage III MCC. She was then treated with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy after a thorough surgical resection of the tumor. Despite the fact that she was in remission after completing chemotherapy courses, she developed neutropenic fever, sepsis and died from septic shock. This case emphasizes the necessity of early clinical diagnosis of MCC and obtaining a biopsy with histopathologic evaluation of rapidly evolving skin lesions suggestive of malignancy