J Breast Cancer
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The frequency of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is increasing, and the types of reconstruction used are diverse. Adjuvant chemotherapy is a life-saving intervention in selected high-risk breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to determine how IBR and type of reconstruction affect the timing of the initiation of chemotherapy. ⋯ IBR delays the initiation of chemotherapy, but does not lead to omission or significant clinical delay in chemotherapy. Further, the type of reconstruction does not affect the timing of chemotherapy.
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Axillary lymph node status is the strongest prognostic indicator of survival for women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is required in patients with an initial diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). ⋯ The rates of SLNB positivity in pure DCIS are very low, and there is continuing uncertainty about its clinical importance. However in view of the high rate of underestimation of invasive carcinoma in patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS, SLNB appears to be appropriate in these patients, especially in the case when DCIS is diagnosed by a core needle biopsy. In patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS by CNB, SLNB should be considered as part of the primary surgical procedure, when preoperative variables show a tumor larger than 2.35 cm and with HER2 overexpression.