This review, although limited by the rarity of the condition and level of available evidence, demonstrated that survival rates are improved if the diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma can be established antenatally. With diagnosis before 23 weeks' gestation, no definite advantage of proceeding with tumour removal during the second trimester could be demonstrated.

Columnar cell change with atypia (CCCA) is a relatively recently recognized pathologic breast entity considered to be a risk factor for subsequent development of breast carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of finding CCCA on breast core biopsy, by establishing the frequency of other breast pathology on subsequently performed surgical excision specimens. All cases with CCCA as the most advanced lesion on core biopsy were reviewed. After excision, another advanced proliferative lesion was identified in 17 (33%) patients, including three patients (6%) with in situ or invasive carcinoma. An additional five patients (10%) were concurrently diagnosed with primary breast carcinoma at other sites. These findings indicate that when CCCA is found on core biopsy, open surgical biopsy of the relevant area should be performed and that workup of both breasts should be undertaken to exclude coexistent breast carcinoma at alternative sites.

Blue dye alone (BDA), lymphoscintigraphy alone, or, a combination of the two techniques are used for sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in breast cancer. This study reviews the effectiveness of the SNB technique using BDA by measuring the node identification rate and comparing the cohort node positivity with expected rates from established nomograms. A consecutive case series was examined from the database. This included the learning experience of six surgeons. Patients with unifocal tumors estimated at less than 31 mm were eligible. The tumor and axillary nodal histology was recorded. Published data were then used to calculate and predict node positivity rates in the study according to the size and grade of the tumors. There were 332 SNB procedures from 2001 to 2008. BDA successfully identified nodes in 94.6% (314/332) of the cases. The identification rate improved with experience. In patients with invasive cancer, 28.4% (85/299) of SNB were found to be positive for metastases or micrometastases. The node identification rate and the node positivity rate were found to be within published predicted ranges for the size and grade of the study tumors. The SNB with BDA was found to be effective in identifying sentinel nodes (SLN) in breast cancer. Surgeon experience was a factor in the success of the technique. Rates of detecting metastases were consistent with internationally published data, suggesting that BDA may perform as well as other techniques in experienced hands.