Faculty Bibliography

Purpose of Review: The objective of this review was to examine the current literature and clinical relevance of radial scars. We discuss the diagnostic workup of radial scars, factors impacting upgrade rates to malignancy, and current issues in management. Recent Findings: Several guidelines exist with varying recommendations on the management of radial scars. Early studies advocated for the excision of all radial scars to definitively exclude cancer. However, there is growing evidence that some lesions may be observed with serial imaging. Summary: Numerous factors contribute to the risk of upgrading radial scars to malignancy. The presence of atypia, level of enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging, and the method of tissue biopsy can impact the risk of upgrade. Radial scars without atypia and non-enhancement on MRI that are sampled with a vacuum-assisted device have low risks of upgrade and may be candidates for non-operative management with close surveillance.

Fibromatosis of the breast is a rare condition that can be locally aggressive. The mainstay of treatment remains wide local excision, with varied adjuvant therapy as needed. The authors describe their experience in the treatment of a series of patients and propose the classification of primary and secondary breast fibromatosis. A single-institution retrospective analysis of patients treated for breast fibromatosis from 2003 to 2017 was completed. Demographic data, pertinent past medical history, and treatment modalities were reviewed. Primary breast fibromatosis was defined as arising in the absence of previous surgery or radiation therapy to the ipsilateral breast. Secondary breast fibromatosis was defined as arising in the setting of previous surgery or radiation therapy to the ipsilateral breast. A total of 16 patients were included with the median age 40 (28-64) years. The average size of the lesion was 6.37 cm (range of 1.5-15 cm). Mean follow-up time was 65 months. Surgical excision was completed in 14 patients, with two recurrences. There were no recurrences in patients with surgical margins >1 cm. Two patients were treated nonsurgically. There were seven patients with primary fibromatosis of the breast and nine patients with secondary fibromatosis of the breast. Fibromatosis of the breast is difficult to diagnose prior to surgical excision. We advocate for the multi-disciplinary treatment of this disease process with an aggressive surgical approach to achieve margins >1 cm.

Patients who suffer from lymphedema have impaired immunity and, as a result, are at an increased risk for infections. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that lymphadenectomy impairs acquisition of adaptive immune responses and antibody production in response to foreign antigens. Although it is clear that antigen presentation in lymph nodes plays a key role in adaptive immunity, the cellular mechanisms that regulate impaired immune responses in patients with lymphedema or following lymphatic injury remain unknown. We have previously found that axillary lymph node dissection, both clinically and in a mouse model, results in a marked increase in the number of regulatory T cells in the ipsilateral limb. In this study, we focus on the role of regulatory T cells in immunosuppression and show that regulatory T-cell proliferation in tissues distal to site of lymphatic injury contributes to impaired innate and adaptive immune responses. More importantly, using Foxp3-DTR transgenic mice, we show that depletion of regulatory T cells in the setting of lymphatic injury restores these critical immune-mediated responses. These findings provide additional evidence that immune responses following lymphatic injury play a key role in mediating the pathology of lymphedema.

Lymphangiogenesis is the process by which new lymphatic vessels grow in response to pathologic stimuli such as wound healing, inflammation, and tumor metastasis. It is well-recognized that growth factors and cytokines regulate lymphangiogenesis by promoting or inhibiting lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) proliferation, migration and differentiation. Our group has shown that the expression of T-helper 2 (Th2) cytokines is markedly increased in lymphedema, and that these cytokines inhibit lymphatic function by increasing fibrosis and promoting changes in the extracellular matrix. However, while the evidence supporting a role for T cells and Th2 cytokines as negative regulators of lymphatic function is clear, the direct effects of Th2 cytokines on isolated LECs remains poorly understood. Using in vitro and in vivo studies, we show that physiologic doses of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) have profound anti-lymphangiogenic effects and potently impair LEC survival, proliferation, migration, and tubule formation. Inhibition of these cytokines with targeted monoclonal antibodies in the cornea suture model specifically increases inflammatory lymphangiogenesis without concomitant changes in angiogenesis. These findings suggest that manipulation of anti-lymphangiogenic pathways may represent a novel and potent means of improving lymphangiogenesis.

Introduction: Lymphedema, a common complication of cancer treatment, is characterized by inflammation, fibrosis, and adipose deposition. We previously have shown that macrophage infiltration is increased in mouse models of lymphedema. Because macrophages are regulators of lymphangiogenesis and fibrosis, this study aimed to determine the role of these cells in lymphedema using depletion experiments. Methods: Matched biopsy specimens of normal and lymphedema tissues were obtained from patients with unilateral upper extremity breast cancer-related lymphedema and macrophage accumulation was assessed using immunohistochemistry. In addition, we used a mouse tail model of lymphedema to quantify macrophage accumulation and analyze outcomes of conditional macrophage depletion. Results: Histological analysis of clinical lymphedema biopsies revealed significantly increased macrophage infiltration. Similarly, in the mouse tail model, lymphatic injury increased the number of macrophages and favored M2 differentiation. Chronic macrophage depletion using lethally irradiated wild-type mice reconstituted with CD11b-DTR mouse bone marrow did not decrease swelling, adipose deposition, or overall inflammation. Macrophage depletion after lymphedema had become established significantly increased fibrosis, accumulation of CD4+ cells, and promoted Th2 differentiation while decreasing lymphatic transport capacity and VEGF-C expression. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that macrophages home to lymphedematous tissues and differentiate into the M2 phenotype. In addition, our findings suggest that macrophages have an anti-fibrotic role in lymphedema and either directly or indirectly regulate CD4+ cell accumulation and Th2 differentiation. Finally our findings suggest that lymphedema associated macrophages are a major source of VEGF-C and that impaired macrophage responses after lymphatic injury results in decreased lymphatic function.

Abstract Introduction: Recent advances in microsurgery such as lymphaticovenous bypass (LVB) have been shown to decrease limb volumes and improve subjective symptoms in patients with lymphedema. However, to date, it remains unknown if these procedures can reverse the pathological tissue changes associated with lymphedema. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze skin tissue changes in patients before and after LVB. Methods and Results: Matched skin biopsy samples were collected from normal and lymphedematous limbs of 6 patients with unilateral breast cancer-related upper extremity lymphedema before and 6 months after LVB. Biopsy specimens were fixed and analyzed for inflammation, fibrosis, hyperkeratosis, and lymphangiogenesis. Six months following LVB, 83% of patients had symptomatic improvement in their lymphedema. Histological analysis at this time demonstrated a significant decrease in tissue CD4+ cell inflammation in lymphedematous limb (but not normal limb) biopsies (p<0.01). These changes were associated with significantly decreased tissue fibrosis as demonstrated by decreased collagen type I deposition and TGF-beta1 expression (all p<0.01). In addition, we found a significant decrease in epidermal thickness, decreased numbers of proliferating basal keratinocytes, and decreased number of LYVE-1+ lymphatic vessels in lymphedematous limbs after LVB. Conclusions: We have shown, for the first time, that microsurgical LVB not only improves symptomatology of lymphedema but also helps to improve pathologic changes in the skin. These findings suggest that the some of the pathologic changes of lymphedema are reversible and may be related to lymphatic fluid stasis.

Abstract Background: The lymphatic system is commonly injured during cancer treatment. However, despite the morbidity of these injuries, there are currently no options for replacing damaged lymphatics. The purpose of this study was to optimize methods for decellularization of murine lymph nodes (LN) and to determine if these scaffolds can be used to tissue engineer lymph node-like structures. Methods and Results: LNs were harvested from adult mice and subjected to various decellularization protocols. The degree of decellularization and removal of nuclear material was analyzed histologically and quantitatively using DNA isolation. In addition, we analyzed histological architecture by staining for matrix proteins. After the optimal method of decellularization was identified, decellularized constructs were implanted in the renal capsule of syngeneic or allogeneic recipient mice and analyzed for antigenicity. Finally, to determine if decellularized constructs could deliver lymphocytes to recipient animals, the matrices were repopulated with splenocytes, implanted in submuscular pockets, and harvested 14 days later. Decellularization was best accomplished with the detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), resulting in negligible residual cellular material but maintenance of LN architecture. Implantation of decellularized LNs into syngeneic or allogeneic mice did not elicit a significant antigenic response. In addition, repopulation of decellularized LNs with splenocytes resulted in successful in vivo cellular delivery. Conclusions: We show, for the first time, that LNs can be successfully decellularized and that these matrices have preserved extracellular matrix architecture and the potential to deliver leukocytes in vivo. Future studies are needed to determine if tissue engineered lymph nodes maintain immunologic function.