Background: COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected care of breast cancer patients world-wide. There is paucity of available data on cancer management in lower-middle income countries during this pandemic, we sought to determine the institutional approach towards management of breast cancer patients and the outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic at our institution. Materials and methods: Clinicopathological and treatment record of cancer patients who presented to the Breast Clinic from 15th March to 31 st December 2020 was retrieved from the institutional database for this retrospective clinical observational study. Results: A total of 292 patients were qualified for the analysis in which 206 patients (70.5%) underwent breast cancer surgeries. Only 10 of them (4.9%) were identified to be COVID-19 virus positive on routine pre-operative RT-PCR test before elective surgeries. All were asymptomatic, received home-based care via telecommunication and were operated at a later date when test turned out negative. None of them developed any complications postoperatively. Another group of 86 patients (29.5%) were referred for Neoadjuvant/Systemic chemotherapy in which COVID-19 infection was detected in only 4 patients (4.6%) while receiving cycles. Two patients shown symptoms of cough and fever hence hospitalised but were not candidates for Intensive Care Unit admission while other two patient were asymptomatic and isolated at home. All patients recovered well and chemotherapy was commenced again after negative RT-PCR test. No mortality was observed. Conclusion: Despite of being a global crisis particularly for cancer patients we observed infectivity, complications and fatality much lower among breast cancer cases. Further research is needed in this regard including public and private sector hospitals for better understanding behavior of COVID-19 disease and achieve common goal to combat COVID-19 and cancer together.
Phyllodes tumours of the breast are characterized by having both an epithelial as well as stromal component and these usually comprise almost 3% of all fibroepithelial tumours. They are exceptional in this aspect to convert into a stromal sarcoma of the breast after multiple recurrences. To the best of our knowledge, there are only three case reports regarding this in the available literature as it is an exceptional change. In this case report, we present a case of recurrent phyllodes transforming into a breast fibrosarcoma in a middle age postmenopausal woman. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry of the lesion were performed to confirm the diagnosis of breast fibrosarcoma.
Background Pakistan has the highest incidence of breast cancer among Asian Countries but there is insufficient representation of local data addressing breast cancer treatment and outcome. We sought to determine the role of post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) in T1- T2 breast cancer with 1–3 positive axillary lymph nodes. Methods Data was reviewed retrospectively of total 755 patients out of which 291 received PMRT and 464 did not from two large breast cancer centres. Results With a median follow up of 78 months, 4 (4.5%) patients developed loco regional recurrence (LRR) in the PMRT group while a substantial number 74 (24.4%) recurred in the non PMRT group (p = 0.000). Loco regional free survival rate (LRFS) and overall survival rate (OS) was significantly better for PMRT patients than non-PMRT patients (P = <0.000). Multivariate analysis identified young age, lymphovascular invasion, extra capsular extension, triple negative and ER/PR negative were independent prognostic factors affecting loco regional free survival (LRFS). Conclusion Disease recurrence is a substantial issue in 1–3 node group despite early stage, PMRT has an instrumental effect in improving LRFS and OS.
Background: Quality of life after breast cancer surgery is frequently ignored during and after treatment in many cancer survivors. To enhance this aspect of patient’s life should be the primary goal of every cancer treatment. Therefore, the present study aimed to highlight the quality of life and patients’ satisfaction with their breast cosmesis following breast conserving surgery (BCS), total mastectomy with and without reconstruction. Material and methods: Data were collected prospectively from cancer patients who had undergone breast surgery at our institution from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2021. The validated Breast-Q questionnaires were utilized for conducting patient interviews and mean scores between three cohorts were compared using one-way ANOVA test / Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: Overall, 210 patients were recruited in which 70 patients (33.3%) had undergone BCS, 71 patients (33.8%) had total mastectomy only and 69 (32.9%) patients had total mastectomy with reconstruction. Physical well-being scores were consistent between the three groups while patients operated with total mastectomy with reconstructive surgery scored higher in sexual and psychosocial health measures as compared to patients of total mastectomy. However, BCS patients were the most satisfied with their cosmetic outcome following patients of total mastectomy with reconstruction and without reconstruction. Conclusion: Reconstruction postmastectomy has a positive impact on sexual and psychosocial well-being of survivors; however, those who had breast conservation were more satisfied with cosmetic outcome post-surgery as compared with mastectomy with or without reconstruction.
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