Tumor Microenvironment in Male Breast Carcinoma with Emphasis on Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes and PD-L1 Expression

Male breast cancer (MBC) is rare and usually presents as a locally advanced disease. Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) are associated with a better response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and improved prognosis in all molecular subtypes of female breast cancer, but their role in MBC is less clear. We studied sTILs and the expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and pan-TRK in MBC. We retrospectively studied 113 cases of MBC surgically treated between 1988 and 2015. The tumors were evaluated for histological type and grade, stage, intrinsic subtype and sTILs. We performed immunohistochemistry for PD-L1 (clone SP142) and pan-TRK (clone EPR17341) on tissue microarrays. Pan-TRK positive cases were further analyzed by next-generation sequencing. The median age was 69 years (range 60–77). Invasive carcinoma of no special type was found in 94.7% of cases, of which 53.1% were grade 2. Estrogen receptor was positive in 92% of the tumors, progesterone receptor in 85.8%, androgen receptor in 70.8%; 4.4% were human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive, and 55.8% HER2-low. 40.7% of tumors were luminal A and 51.3% luminal B, 4.4% HER2-enriched and 3.5% triple negative carcinoma. sTILs density was 50% in 3.6% of the tumors. PD-L1 immune cell score >1% was found in 7.1% of the tumors (all of luminal subtype). A weak focal cytoplasmic pan-TRK staining was present in 8.8% but without NTRK fusion. Neither sTILs nor PD-L1 had statistically significant outcomes. Our findings suggest that a subset of MBC patients harbors an immunological environment characterized by increased sTILs with PD-L1 expression. These patients may potentially benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Frequent HER2-low may offer novel anti-HER2 treatment options

A comparative study assessing the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation versus surgical treatment for osteoid osteoma: retrospective analysis in a single institution

Abstract Objective We aim to evaluate the efficacy of CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and surgical treatment in osteoid osteoma (OO) treated at the Medical University of Graz. Materials and methods In a single-institution study, we analysed data from January 2005 to January 2021 of patients with histological/radiological diagnosis of OO. CT and MRI scans were reviewed for typical findings. Means (with SD) and medians (with IQR) were reported for normally and non-normally distributed variables. Differences between groups were assessed using chi-squared tests and t-tests. Results One hundred nineteen patients (mean age: 21.6 ± 10.9 years; 63.9% males) with confirmed OO were retrospectively evaluated. 73 and 43 patients underwent RFA and surgery, respectively. In three cases, RFA combined with surgery was performed. Pre-intervention, 103 patients (88.8%) had undergone CT, and 101 had an MRI (87.1%). The nidus was confirmed in 82.5% of cases with CTs (85/103) and 63.4% with MRIs (64/101). The majority of nidi were located cortically (n = 96; 82.8%), most frequently in the femur (38 patients, 33.3%) with a median size of 8.0 mm (IQR: 5.0–12.0 mm). Median symptom duration before treatment was 6.0 (IQR: 4.0–13.0) months. The complication rate was 12.1% (14/116; 15.1% RFA vs. 7.0% surgery; p = 0.196). In total, 11.2% of patients had persistent symptoms after one week with clinical success rates of RFA and surgery, 86.3% and 90.7% (p = 0.647), respectively. Conclusion Compared to surgical treatment, CT-guided percutaneous RFA is a safe, minimally invasive, reliable, and efficient treatment option for OO. Critical relevance statement This article critically assesses the diagnosis and treatment of osteoid osteoma, emphasising accurate imaging, and detailing a non-invasive option for effective management. Key points • This study analyses 116 cases of OO at one institution, focusing on symptom persistence, recurrence in short-term follow-up, and complications in two study groups. • Surgery showed higher, though not statistically significant, success despite comparable symptom persistence; CT displayed typical OO features more than MRI, regardless of the intramedullary, cortical and subperiosteal location as well as the site of the affected bone. • CT-guided RFA is an effective therapeutic alternative for OO compared to surgical intervention. In case of atypical OO appearance, RFA is not the first-line treatment. Graphical Abstrac