Introduction: We studied the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) +/- trastuzumab on the ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) component in patients with locally advanced breast cancer who achieved pathological complete response (pCR).Methods: The diagnostic biopsies of 92 consecutive breast cancer patients that were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) +/- trastuzumab were evaluated for the presence of DCIS. Upon completion of NAC, the surgical specimens were evaluated for complete eradication of both the invasive and non-invasive cancer in the breast.The pretreatment mammograms were evaluated for the presence of microcalcifications and compared to the mammograms that were obtained upon completion of therapy prior to surgery.Results: Thirty of 92 patients (33%) had a substantial component of DCIS in the pretreatment biopsy. Thirty nine patients (42%) achieved pCR: 22 (56%) following NAC + trastuzumab, 17 (32%) following chemotherapy only. Ten of 30 patients (33%) with DCIS component achieved pCR: 4 received chemotherapy only, in 6 trastuzumab was added. Multiple microcalcifications on the pretreatment mammograms were observed in 3 of 10 patients with DCIS who achieved pCR. No reduction in the area of calcifications was observed following NAC.Conclusions: DCIS may be completely eradicated by NAC +/- trastuzumab. However, associated microcalcifications probably persist. Patients with locally advanced breast cancer with substantial DCIS may still opt for NAC and breast conservation as the DCIS component may respond and even completely disappear following NAC. Residual widespread microcalcifications after NAC do not necessarily indicate residual cancer. Larger studies are needed to direct the surgical management of these patients. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

We evaluated the feasibility of Tc99m-MIBI scintigraphy as a method for early detection of breast cancer in 142 patients. In 101 consecutive patients there was a suspicious lesion on physical examination or on mammography. In 41 high risk patients the scintigraphy was performed only as a screening test. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that in 101 patients who underwent biopsies, there were positive scans in 48 patients (29 of them were true positive), and 53 negative scans (51 of them were true negative). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 94%, 73%, 60%, and 96% respectively. Two false-negative results were in lesions 0.6 and 0.7 cm. in size. Among 19 false positive results 5 were in patients with active mastitis. CONCLUSIONS: Tc99m-MIBI breast scintigraphy is a sensitive method for early detection of breast malignancies.

Fine needle aspiration cytology has been increasingly used in recent years to diagnose pancreatic lesions. During a 6 year period, we performed 33 aspiration cytologies of the pancreas. Twenty‐one were performed during exploratory laparotomy, seven under the guidance of computed tomography and five guided by ultrasonography. In seven cases inflammatory lesions were found, while 26 cases were of malignant tumors. Out of these patients, 10 underwent additional tissue biopsy. The correlation between cytology and histology was 100%. We suggest that fine needle cytology of pancreatic and other intraabdominal lesions can be considered an accurate diagnostic procedure.