Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is rare but is one of the most aggressive and lethal human malignancies. Cytologically, ATC has a variable morphologic appearance, including squamoid, giant, spindled and pleomorphic cells. The coexistence of ATC and differentiated or poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma has been described and usually is diagnosed when the disease is locally advanced. CASE: We describe a case of surgically resectable, encapsulated, well-circumscribed ATC occurring in association with a better differentiated follicular carcinoma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration in a patient exposed to external ionizing radiation. CONCLUSION: Encapsulated variants of anaplastic carcinoma can be seen in association with lower grade thyroid carcinoma such as follicular carcinoma. Accurate diagnosis is dependent on adequate sampling

CONTEXT: Both atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) have traditionally been considered to be risk factors for the development of invasive carcinoma and are followed by close observation. Recent studies have suggested that these lesions may represent true precursors with progression to invasive carcinoma. Due to the debate over the significance of these lesions and the small number of cases reported in the literature, the treatment for lobular neoplasia diagnosed by percutaneous core biopsy (PCB) remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To review our experience with pure LCIS or ALH diagnosed by PCB and correlate the radiologic findings and surgical excision diagnoses to develop management guidelines for lobular neoplasia diagnosed by PCB. DESIGN: We searched the pathology database for patients who underwent PCB with a diagnosis of either pure LCIS or ALH and had subsequent surgical excision. We compared the core diagnoses with the surgical excision diagnoses and the radiologic findings. RESULTS: Thirty-eight PCBs with a diagnosis of ALH (18 cases) or LCIS (20 cases) were identified. Carcinoma was present at excision in 1 (6%) of the ALH cases and in 2 (10%) of the LCIS cases. In summary, 8% (3/38) of PCBs diagnosed as lobular neoplasia (ALH or LCIS) were upgraded to carcinoma (invasive carcinoma or ductal carcinoma in situ) at excision. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical excision is indicated for all PCBs diagnosed as ALH or LCIS, as a significant percentage will show carcinoma at excision

INTRODUCTION: With the adoption of routine screening mammography, breast cancers are being diagnosed at earlier stages, with DCIS now accouting for 22.5% of all newly diagnosed breast cancers. This has been attributed to both increased breast cancer awareness and improvements in breast imaging techniques. How have these changes, including the increased use of image-guided sampling techniques, influenced the clinical practice of breast surgery? METHODS: The institutional pathology database was queried for all breast surgeries, including breast reconstruction, performed in 1995 and 2005. Cosmetic procedures were excluded. The results were analysed utilizing the Chi-square test. RESULTS: Surgical indications changed during 10-year study period, with an increase in preoperatively diagnosed cancers undergoing definitive surgical management. ADH, and to a lesser extent, ALH, became indications for surgical excision. Fewer surgical biopsies were performed for indeterminate abnormalities on breast imaging, due to the introduction of stereotactic large core biopsy. While the rate of benign breast biopsies remained constant, there was a higher percentage of precancerous and DCIS cases in 2005. The overall rate of mastectomy decreased from 36.8% in 1995 to 14.5% in 2005. With the increase in sentinel node procedures, the rate of ALND dropped from 18.3% to 13.7%. Accompanying the increased recognition of early-stage cancers, the rate of positive ALND also decreased, from 43.3% to 25.0%. CONCLUSIONS: While the rate of benign breast biopsies has remained constant over a recent 10-year period, fewer diagnostic surgical image-guided biopsies were performed in 2005. A greater percentage of patients with breast cancer or preinvasive disease have these diagnoses determined before surgery. More preinvasive and Stage 0 cancers are undergoing surgical management. Earlier stage invasive cancers are being detected, reflected by the lower incidence of axillary nodal metastases

Sentinel node biopsy has become the standard method for lymphatic staging in early-stage breast cancer and melanomas. The most commonly used technique uses both a radioactive tracer as well as blue dye, usually isosulfan blue. In this report, we discuss two episodes of anaphylaxis to isosulfan blue during lymphatic mapping, occurring 12 years and 3339 lymphatic mapping cases after adoption of the technique, and discuss management issues raised by these events