Aims To describe the incidence and relative frequencies of primary malignant orbital tumours in the Netherlands from 1989 to 2006. Methods All registered primary malignant orbital tumours were extracted from the population-based database of the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Age-adjusted incidence of malignant orbital tumours per 10 000 000 persons per year and the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) were computed. Results A total of 367 malignant orbital tumours were registered. The average age-adjusted incidence of malignant orbital tumours is 10.9. Lymphoma has a relative frequency of 67%, rhabdomyosarcoma 12%, adenocarcinoma 6%, and adenoid cystic carcinoma 5%. The incidence of primary malignant orbital tumours has been increasing in the Netherlands (EAPC þ 2.8%). Conclusion In the Netherlands, lymphoma is the most common primary malignant orbital tumour, followed by rhabdomyosarcoma, adenocarcinoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma. The relative frequencies of the different histological tumour types are comparable to the frequencies in other parts of the world. The incidence of malignant primary orbital tumours shows a slight increase between 1989 and 2006.

Background: Nipple fluid aspiration (NFA) is a technique to acquire nipple aspirate fluid (NAF), which is considered a rich source of breast-specific biomarkers. Originating directly from the mammary ducts, this liquid biopsy can offer insight into the process of carcinogenesis at its earliest stage and therefore could be of added value to the current imaging-based breast cancer screening tools. With that in mind, it is necessary to know how well NFA is tolerated.Aim: To evaluate the participants’ tolerability of NFA compared to breast imaging screening methods and blood draws.Materials and methods: Three cohorts of women underwent NFA: healthy women (n=190), women diagnosed with breast cancer (n=137) and women at high risk of developing breast cancer (n=48). A 0-10 discomfort score of NFA, mammography, breast MRI and blood draws, was filled in at the study visits, which took place once or annually.Results: The median discomfort rate of NFA was 1, which was significantly lower than the median discomfort of mammography and breast MRI (5 and 3, respectively, p<0.001), but significantly higher than median discomfort for blood draws (0, p<0.001). The great majority of women would undergo the procedure again (98%) and recommend it to others (97%).Conclusion: This study shows that NFA was well tolerated by healthy women, women diagnosed with breast cancer and high-risk women. This makes NFA a feasible method to pursue as a potential future breast cancer early detection tool, based on resident biomarkers.Trial registration: NL41845.041.12, NL57343.041.16 and NL11690.041.06 in trialregister.nl

Background Nipple fluid aspiration (NFA) is a technique to acquire nipple aspirate fluid (NAF), which is considered a rich source of breast-specific biomarkers. Originating directly from the mammary ducts, this liquid biopsy can offer insight into the process of carcinogenesis at its earliest stage and therefore could be of added value to the current imaging-based breast cancer screening tools. With that in mind, it is necessary to know how well NFA is tolerated. Aim To evaluate the participants’ tolerability of NFA compared to breast imaging screening methods and blood draws. Materials and methods Three cohorts of women underwent NFA: healthy women (n = 190), women diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 137) and women at high risk of developing breast cancer (n = 48). A 0–10 discomfort score of NFA, mammography, breast MRI and blood draws, was filled in at the study visits, which took place once or annually. Results The median discomfort rate of NFA was 1, which was significantly lower than the median discomfort of mammography and breast MRI (5 and 3, respectively, p < 0.001), but significantly higher than median discomfort for blood draws (0, p < 0.001). The great majority of women would undergo the procedure again (98%) and recommend it to others (97%). Conclusion This study shows that NFA was well tolerated by healthy women, women diagnosed with breast cancer and high-risk women. This makes NFA a feasible method to pursue as a potential future breast cancer early detection tool, based on resident biomarkers. Trial registration NL41845.041.12, NL57343.041.16 and NL11690.041.06 in trialregister.nl.