HOXB9 expression, which promotes tumor proliferation and angiogenesis, is a significant prognostic factor in breast cancer.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is commonly performed using radioisotopes and/or blue dye. However, it is still undefined which reagent is more suitable for identifying sentinel lymph nodes (SLN). Patients and Methods: A consecutive series of 640 breast cancer patients who had undergone SLNB at the Keio University Hospital from 2001 to 2006 was analyzed. The SLN was identified by a combination of technetium-99m tin colloid and isosulfan blue dye. The correlation between clinicopathological factors and the distribution of radioisotopes and blue dye was analyzed. The single metastatic lymph node revealed by axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is the ‘true SLN’, and the distribution of radioisotopes and blue dye to the ‘true SLN’ was also analyzed. Results: Blue-dye- and radioisotope-positive SLN were identified in 79.6 and 94.7% of the patients, respectively. Taken together, SLN were identified in 625 patients (97.7%) by radioisotope and/or blue dye. No significant correlation was observed between clinicopathological features and the distribution of the reagents. ALND found 73 patients with single lymph node metastasis, and 73 ‘true SLN’ were identified by blue dye in 65.7% (48/73), and by radioisotope in 95.9% (70/73) of the cases. Conclusion: These data suggest that radioisotopes are superior to blue dye in detecting SLN in breast cancer.

BackgroundEribulin mesylate is currently indicated as a sequential monotherapy to be administered after two chemotherapeutic regimens, including anthracycline and taxane treatments, for treatment of metastatic breast cancer. This open-label, multicenter phase II study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of eribulin as a first- or second-line treatment for patients with metastatic breast cancer.MethodsThe primary objective was to determine the overall response rate. Secondary objectives were to evaluate progression-free survival and the safety profile. Patients were scheduled to receive eribulin mesylate 1.4 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1 and 8 of a 21-day cycle. Patients received the study treatment unless disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or a request to discontinue from the patient and/or investigator eventuated.ResultsBetween December 2012 and September 2015, 32 patients with metastatic breast cancer were enrolled at 10 participating clinical institutions in Japan, and toxicity and response rates were evaluated. The overall response rate was 43.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 26.5–61.0). The clinical benefit and tumor control rates were 56.3% (95% CI 39.0–73.5) and 78.1% (95% CI 63.8–92.5), respectively. Median progression-free survival was 8.3 months (95% CI 7.1–9.4). A subgroup analysis did not identify any factors affecting the efficacy of eribulin. The most common adverse events were neutropenia (71.9%), alopecia (68.7%), and peripheral neuropathy (46.9%). As a first- or second-line therapy, eribulin showed sufficient efficacy for metastatic breast cancer compared with taxane and capecitabine treatment in previous clinical trials. The safety profile of eribulin was acceptable.ConclusionsEribulin may be another option for first-line chemotherapeutic regimens for metastatic breast cancer.Trial registrationsThis trial was retrospectively registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trial Registry (ID number: UMIN000010334).Date of trial registration: April 1st, 2013.

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