Pictorial Lesson on Breast Cancer

Anatomy

Age-specific incidence of breast cancer in the United States.

Timeline of breast cancer• Primary breast

cancers begin as single (or more) cells which have lost normal regulation of differentiation and proliferation but remain confined within the basement membrane of the duct or lobule.

• As these cells go through several doublings, at some point they invade through the basement membrane of the duct or lobule and ultimately metastasize to distant organs.

Halsted theory of breast cancer spread

• This theory suggests that breast cancer originates in the breast, eventually spreads to local skin and/or lymph nodes and then ultimately affects distant organs.

• This theory maintains that local/regional lymph nodes serve as 'barriers' to the spread of metastatic breast cancer.

• The implication of this theory is that more intensive local therapy should lead to an increased rate of cures.

Lymphatic spread of breast cancer.

• Lymph node metastases are present at the time of diagnosis in up to 60% of cases.

• In general, lateral lesions in the breast metastasize to axillary and supraclavicular nodes, whereas medial tumors tend to metastasize to the internal mammary and mediastinal lymph nodes, as well as the supraclavicular nodes.

• However, lymph node

involvement is merely a marker for the probability that the cancer has spread from the breast.

• A positive finding implies that microdeposits of breast cancer will likely be present in other areas as well.

Breast cancer staging based on clinical characteristics (from AJCC: Manual for Staging of Cancer, 4th edn. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1993.)

Survival of breast cancer patients by stage at the time of diagnosis

Frequency of breast cancer metastases

• The most common first sites of recurrent breast cancer are the chest wall, the regional lymph nodes and/or bone.

• Liver, lung and central nervous system (CNS) are less common sites of recurrence.

Investigations

• Bilateral mammograms:

• 45-year-old patient with enlarged right axillary nodes (black arrow) but no mammographic abnormally within either breast.

Investigations

• Sagittal MRI

• right breast with fat saturation prior to administration of gadolinium.

• A rounded density represents an axillary node (white arrow).

MRI

• Sagittal MRI

• at the same location after administration of gadolinium - enhancement of the node is evident (white arrow).

Sentinel node biopsy (a) Axillary lymph mapping. (b) Injection of blue dye in the tumor cavity.

(c) Identification of the sentinel node (follow blue line).

An incisional biopsy makes a definitive diagnosis

• Excisional biopsies, although diagnostic, can also be therapeutic by eliminating the need for further breast surgery when radiation therapy is performed.

Assays for steroid hormone receptors.

ER staining

• In this frozen section of an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, a brown stain in the nucleus defines the presence of oestrogen

receptor

HER2 neu status

Two methods to determine HER2 neu status:

i)immuno-histochemistry (IHC)

ii) fluorescent in

situ hybridization (FISH).

Scores of +2 or +3 are regarded as positive

Pathology

Intraductal carcinoma (cribriform type)

• (a) Low- and (b) high-power photomicrographs demonstrate a cribriform pattern composed of a rather uniform tumour cell population with distinct cytoplasmic borders; the cells are rigidly arranged around crisp, circular holes.

• With this pattern, the risk for the subsequent development of invasive cancer increases 10-11-fold.

Papillary carcinoma in situ.

• The architectural features of this in situ breast cancer are similar to those of a papilloma. The normal two-cell-layer epithelium covering the fibrovascular fronds is replaced by a uniform proliferation of cells with hyperchromatic nuclei.

Invasive lobular carcinoma• The classic

presentation of this tumour is marked by a 'single file' pattern of uniform malignant cells infiltrating the stroma.

• The invasive lesion surrounds foci of in situ tumour. (b) Single file tumour cells surround an involved duct, producing a target-like pattern.

Cases

Stage I (T1N0) breast cancer• Magnified view of a

screening mammogram from a 52-year-old woman who had no palpable mass demonstrates the classic clustered microcalcifications of several shapes and sizes highly suggestive of carcinoma.

• Some exhibit linear branching, which is even more suggestive of a ductal lesion. Biopsy confirmed an early invasive ductal carcinoma.

Stage IIA (T2N0) breast cancer.• This mammogram

from a 65-year-old woman shows that the breasts are not too dense; therefore, the 2.5 cm stellate mass in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast was easily palpated.

• Histological examination following resection showed an invasive ductal carcinoma.

Stage IIIB (T4) breast cancer

• A common presentation at this stage is retraction, dimpling and thickening of the skin surrounding the nipple.

• This clinical finding is designated 'peau d'orange' a name deriving from the pitting and coloration of the skin like orange peel.

Stage IIIB (T4) breast cancer.• Classically,

inflammatory breast cancer does not present as a discrete mass, but rather as cutaneous erythema with overlying skin warmth, as illustrated in the left breast of this 63-year-old patient.

Stage IIIB (T4) breast cancer.

• Advanced primary carcinomas can present with skin ulceration, as shown in this mastectomy specimen, in the area above the nipple, which is raised and ulcerated by an underlying tumour.

• Biopsy revealed an adenocarcinoma.

Stage IIIB (T4) breast cancer.• This 66-year-old patient

presented with a locally advanced carcinoma that had ulcerated through the skin, causing substantial morbidity.

• She was treated effectively with chemotherapy and over 5 months the ulceration decreased as the tumour regressed. Ultimately, the skin healed completely.

Recurrence and Metastatic Disease

Recurrent breast cancer

• Locally recurrent disease can often present as very subtle subcutaneous nodules along the mastectomy scar or as a nodular cutaneous rash.

Bone metastases

• Bone is one of the most common sites of metastatic breast disease.

• Although benign disorders, such as osteoarthritis, osteomyelitis, or benign fractures, can cause a bone scan to be positive, the appearance of multiple 'hot spots', especially in the axial and thoracic skeleton, as shown here is highly suggestive of metastases.

Lytic vs blastic bone metastases• In general, lytic bone

metastases are more common than osteoblastic lesions, although many patients exhibit mixed lytic lesions with areas of osteoblastic reaction.

• Diffuse lytic lesions can be seen in this patient's right femoral head and ischial pubic ramus.

• Such lesions weaken the cortex, often resulting in pathologic fracture.

Bone Mets• Radiograph of the

pelvis of a 45-year-old woman demonstrates widespread foci of increased bone density representing osteoblastic activity surrounding bone metastases of breast cancer.

• It is interesting to note

that effective therapy may alter the nature of lytic bone metastases, converting them to sclerotic, blastic lesions.

Spinal Cord Compression• Large lytic lesion can be

seen involving about half of the body of L2, including the left pedicle (arrow). In addition, a soft tissue mass extends into the spinal canal, compressing the spinal cord.

• Spinal cord compression is classified as an 'oncologic emergency', requiring either immediate decompression or radiation therapy. It can rapidly lead to neurological deficits and even paraplegia.

Intrathoracic metastases

• Intrathoracic metastases can be manifested in several ways. Among the more common is malignant pleural effusion, as demonstrated by the large right effusion on this CT.

• In addition, the advanced right breast cancer can also be seen.

Brain metastases

• Metastases can be single, multiple or meningeal.

• CT scan of the brain of a 62-year-old woman, who presented 6 years after having undergone a mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy for a stage II breast carcinoma, shows a well-circumscribed, enhancing lesion with surrounding oedema in the left temporo-occipital region. She also had pulmonary and hepatic metastases. (b).

Post radiotherapy• Repeat CT scan

taken 3 months after completion of successful radiotherapy reveals that the enhancing lesion is no longer evident and the oedema has almost completely resolved. Her symptoms also totally resolved

Disease Monitoring, Results and Complications

Circulating tumour markers as monitors of disease course

• Tumour markers can also correlate with clinical disease course and can be useful in monitoring patients during therapy. In this figure, a patient with metastatic breast cancer to bone and lung (a) was initially treated with chemotherapy. Her symptoms began to resolve during the first 2 months of therapy, but interpretations of her physical examination, chest X-ray and bone scans were equivocal (b). However, her CA15-3 levels decreased from an initial level of 200 U/ml to 50 U/ml. Her chemotherapy was continued and by the fourth month of therapy she was found to be responding, as determined by history, bone scan and chest X-ray findings (c).

The cosmetic results• This 70-year-old

patient had a stage I carcinoma of the left breast that was treated by excisional biopsy and primary irradiation.

• Although there is some asymmetry of the breast, as well as, on close inspection, some modest skin thickening and retraction due to the therapy, it is very difficult to determine which breast was treated.

A patient with bilateral mastectomies

Patient before and after bilateral silicone implants following bilateral mastectomies

Radiation recall reaction

A geometrically shaped area ofhyperpigmentation and thickening of the chest wall due to a radiation recall reaction in the skin.

Adjuvant radiation to the chest after mastectomy is no longer indicated in most patients. Although it decreases local recurrence, it does not affect survival and may be associated with significant morbidity.

Lymphoedema

• A 64-year-old patient with significant arm edema after a radical mastectomy, full axillary dissection and postoperative chest wall and axillary radiotherapy.

• The patient's left arm is immensely swollen in contrast to her unaffected, normal right arm.

Radiation pneumonitis Radiation therapy can be associated with local tissue

damage and toxicity. This patient presented with a T2N3 breast cancer with supraclavicular lymphadenopathy. She was treated by lumpectomy and radiotherapy to the breast, as well as radiation therapy to the supraclavicular fossa. At this time her chest X-ray was normal (opposite).

Two years later the patient presented with dyspnoea on exertion. A chest X-ray (below right) demonstrated a nodular, right upper lobe density and a CT scan (below) confirmed the presence of these apical nodules.

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Information

For more info:

• http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/qrg84.pdf• http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/• http://www.cancer.gov/• http://www.macmillan.org.uk/