Physical examination (PE), mammography (MG), breast MRI, FDG-PET and pathologic evaluation are used to assess primary breast cancer. Their accuracy has not been well studied in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Accuracies of each modality in tumor and nodal assessment in patients with T3/4 tumors receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy were compared. METHODS-45 patients of a prospective clinical trial studying T3-T4M0 tumors were included. Patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy: docetaxel/carboplatin with or without trastuzumab before and/or after surgery (depending on HER-2/neu status and randomization). Tumor measurements by PE, MG, and MRI and nodal status by PE and PET were obtained before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Concordance among different clinical measurements was assessed and compared with the tumor and nodal staging by pathology. Spearman corr (r) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to measure the accuracy of measurements among all modalities and between modalities and pathological tumor size. RESULTS-Comparing to the tumor size measured by PE, MRI was more accurate than MG at baseline (r 0.559, RMSE 35.4% vs. r 0.046, RMSE 66.1%). After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, PE correlated better with pathology than MG or MRI (r 0.655, RMSE 88.6% vs. r 0.146, RMSE 147.1% and r 0.364, RMSE 92.6%). Axillary nodal assessment after neoadjuvant chemotherapy showed high specificity but low sensitivity by PET and PE. CONCLUSION-Findings suggested that MRI was a more accurate imaging study at baseline for T3/T4 tumor and PE correlated best with pathology finding. PET and PE both correctly predicted positive axillary nodes but not negative nodes.

To date, the effect of tooth loss on all-cause mortality among elderly patients with a different weight group has not been assessed. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the data obtained from a government-sponsored, annual physical examination program for elderly citizens residing in Taipei City during 2005 to 2007, and follow-up to December 31, 2010. We recruited 55,651 eligible citizens of Taipei City aged ≥65 years, including 29,572 men and 26,079 women, in our study. Their mortality data were ascertained based on the national death files. The number of missing teeth was used as a representative of oral health status. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to determine the association between tooth loss and all-cause mortality. After adjustment for all confounders, the hazard ratios (HRs) of all-cause mortality in participants with no teeth, 1 to 9 teeth, and 10 to 19 teeth were 1.36 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.15–1.61], 1.24 (95% CI: 1.08–1.42), and 1.19 (95% CI: 1.09–1.31), respectively, compared with participants with 20 or more teeth. A significant positive correlation of body mass index (BMI) with all-cause mortality was found in underweight and overweight elderly patients and was represented as a U-shaped curve. Subgroup analysis revealed a significant positive correlation in underweight (no teeth: HR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.21–1.83; 1–9 teeth: HR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.03–1.47; 10–19 teeth: HR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.06–1.36) and overweight participants (no teeth: HR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.05–1.79; 1–9 teeth: HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.07–1.52). The number of teeth lost is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, particularly for participants with underweight and overweight.