The present study reports results of a randomized trial in which breast cancer patients operated with preserved pectoral fascia compared to removal of the pectoral fascia showed a trend toward an increased risk for chest wall recurrence The aim of the study was to assess whether the different procedural modes had any impact on survival or local control in breast cancer patients followed in the long term.

BACKGROUND:Paget's disease of the nipple is a rare form of breast cancer characterised by the presence of intraepidermal tumour cells. It is often associated with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and/or invasive cancer in the breast parenchyma. We have studied the presentation and symptoms of Paget's disease, local control and breast cancer corrected survival following breast conserving surgery or mastectomy.PATIENTS AND METHODS:The study is based on 223 women with histological verified Paget's disease of the nipple diagnosed between 1976 and 2001 at 13 Swedish hospitals. All women s charts were reviewed. All recurrences and deaths were registered. A comparison was made for differences in breast cancer-corrected survival (BCS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in univariate analyses.RESULTS:The median follow-up was 12 (4-28) years. In a vast majority (98%), the main presenting symptom was eczema or ulceration of the nipple. The diagnosis of an underlying breast malignancy was established in 79% of the women before surgery. A cone excision of the nipple-areola complex was performed in 43 women and 169 women had a mastectomy. Eleven elderly women were not operated. One hundred and seventeen women had a non-invasive Paget of which 40 had an underlying DCIS. Invasive cancer was seen in 68 women. In 38 cases the histopathological report did not state if the tumour was invasive or not. Thirty-three women died from breast cancer. In operated women BCS and DFS at 10 years were 87% and 82%, respectively. The 10-year BCS for non-operated patients (n = 11) was 34%. At 10 years, the cumulative local recurrence rate was 9%, 8% among women undergoing mastectomy and 16% among those treated with breast conserving surgery. In univariate analysis the type of surgery, cone excision or mastectomy, had no statistically significant impact on BCS or DFS. Risk factors for breast cancer death and recurrence were having an underlying invasive cancer compared with an in situ carcinoma and having a palpable tumour in the breast.CONCLUSION:The main presenting symptoms were eczema or ulceration of the nipple. Patients with non invasive Pagets disease of the nipple had an excellent cancer outcome. Selected patients with Paget's disease of the nipple were treated with breast conserving surgery with survival rates similar to those achieved with mastectomy.

Invasive breast cancer varies widely in biologic aggressiveness, from fairly indolent tumors to rapidly disseminating carcinomas. Matrix metalloproteinases have enzymatic activity and assist in tumor invasion by degrading basement membranes and extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer EMMPRIN is thought to stimulate fibroblasts to produce the zymogen pro-gelatinase A. The membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is thought to assist in tumor invasion and metastasis by activating pro-gelatinase A, which shows enhanced expression in various tumors. Overexpression of gelatinase A has shown to correlate with a malignant phenotype in many tumor forms. The aim of the study was to investigate the mRNA expression pattern of MT1-MMP, gelatinase A, and EMMPRIN in breast tumors. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast tissue samples from 18 patients operated on with breast-conserving surgery for invasive breast carcinoma <20 mm between 1977 and 1985 were analyzed using the mRNA in situ hybridization technique. Most of the patients were node-negative (15/18) and underwent postoperative irradiation to the breast (16/18). The median age at diagnosis was 52 years (21–83 years). At the time of the study 11 patients were alive, 4 without recurrence; 7 patients had been operated for ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences, and 2 had distant metastases. The median follow-up was 112 months (102–193 months). Seven patients died of disseminated breast cancer; their median follow-up was 43 months (22–116 months). 35 S-labeled antisense and sense mRNA probes transcribed from linearized plasmids containing cDNA for the matrix metalloproteinases gelatinase A and MT1-MMP and the glycoprotein EMMPRIN were hybridized to 5 μm paraffin-embedded tissue sections. Several invasive carcinomas were surrounded by normal tissue and carcinoma in situ lesions. Gelatinase A, MT1-MMP, and EMMPRIN mRNA expression were detected in all of the carcinomas. The gelatinase A mRNA expression was mainly localized to stromal cells at moderate to high levels surrounding the invading carcinoma cells but was also seen in single cells at low levels in in situ lesions and in some normal glandular cells. MT1-MMP and EMMPRIN were expressed in all of the carcinomas and were mainly localized to tumor cells; but they were also seen to some extent in single cells at low levels in in situ lesions and in normal glandular cells. No differences in levels of expression for gelatinase A, MT1-MMP, or EMMPRIN were seen in patients who survived compared to patients who died from metastatic disease. The co-expression of gelatinase A, MT1-MMP, and EMMPRIN mRNA in invasive breast carcinoma supports the theory that these proteins interact and are important for the invasive phenotype in breast carcinoma. Hence EMMPRIN may be a central factor for stimulation of gelatinase A activation. Specific inhibitors for individual MMP members could in the future be target-specific events in breast tumor progression. Inhibition of EMMPRIN could be such a target.

Introduction: The aims of the study were to assess the outcome among patients with early breast cancer operated on with wide local excision who developed a subsequent ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence, and to identify risk factors for uncontrolled local disease. Uncontrolled local disease (ULD) was defined as the appearance of clinically manifest invasive adenocarcinoma in the remaining breast or on the ipsilateral chest wall which could not be eradicated with salvage treatment during the period of follow-up (2–18 years). Patients and methods: Eighty-five patients in a cohort of 759 patients, treated for invasive Stage I–II breast cancer with breast-conserving surgery 1976–1985 in Stockholm, with a subsequent ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) were reviewed retrospectively. The majority of the patients were premenopausal (58%), node negative (72%), and had received postoperative radiotherapy (79%). Median follow-up time following breast-conserving surgery was 13 (9–19) years. Multivariate Cox's hazard regression was used in the statistical analysis to identify prognostic factors for ULD. Results: The majority (n = 61) of the IBTR's were located in the original tumor quadrant and showed the same histopathological features as the primary tumor. Salvage mastectomy (n = 65) or reexcision (n = 14) were performed in 79 (93%) of the patients. Twenty-one patients developed ULD. Five years following the diagnosis of IBTR the disease-free survival was 59%, the cumulative incidence for ULD was 24%, and for death in breast cancer 34%. In the cohort of 759 patients, patients who received radiotherapy following the primary breast-conserving surgery had 1% cumulative incidence of ULD following the diagnosis of IBTR compared to 4% among patients that received no postoperative radiotherapy. The cumulative incidence at 5 years of ULD following salvage mastectomy was 12% compared to 33% after salvage reexcision. Patients operated on with breast-conserving surgery with an original tumor size < 15 mm, who were treated with salvage mastectomy for IBTR, had in multivariate analysis the lowest relative risk for ULD. Adjuvant chemotherapy following IBTR treatment did not seem to improve local tumor control. Following the diagnosis of IBTR, 78% (n = 21) of the patients with ULD and/or regional recurrence (n = 27), died of a disseminated breast cancer in contrast to 10% (n = 6) among the remaining 58 patients. Conclusion: Uncontrolled local disease is an important outcome measure following breast-conserving surgery. In this cohort, salvage mastectomy provided a superior local control rate compared to salvage reexcision. A higher although not statistically significant rate of ULD was also seen in patients who had not received postoperative radiotherapy as part of their primary treatment.