Deferment of definitive surgery for some breast cancers has been proposed as a way to conserve hospital resources during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, it is currently unknown which, if any, breast cancers are capable of progressing during a few to several months of observation. The difference between clinical size at diagnosis and final pathology size was assessed in 315 stage I–III primary invasive breast cancer patients who were divided into three groups based on the time between diagnosis and definitive surgery. Size differences over time were used to estimate specific growth rates. Compared with the group with ≤60 days between diagnosis and surgery, tumor growth was observed for 12% of tumors in the 61‐ to 120‐day group and 17% of tumors in the >120‐day group (p for trend = 0.032). Significantly greater specific growth rates were observed for tumors >2 cm by pathology measurement and for pathology node‐positive patients (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.006, respectively). Specific growth rates were significantly greater for luminal B breast cancers than for luminal A breast cancers (p = 0.029) but not for triple‐negative or HER2‐positive breast cancers not selected for neo‐adjuvant chemotherapy. There was no evidence of nodal progression with surgery delay. Fewer than 20% of stage I‐III breast cancers not selected for neo‐adjuvant chemotherapy evidence size progression during follow‐up periods ranging from 61 to 294 days. Clinical‐pathological features cannot reliably predict which tumors will grow. Luminal B phenotype was the only clinical variable known at the time of diagnosis that strongly predicted growth. If resource limitations mandate prioritization schemes for breast cancer surgery, luminal B breast cancer may be the highest priority.

A ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a commonly performed procedure that is used to relieve the increased intracranial pressure in patients with hydrocephalus. VP shunt placement is an invasive procedure and carries many complications. Besides common complications like infections or mechanical obstruction, VP shunt has been found to be associated with the development of ascites in some patients. VP shunt-associated ascites is a very rare complication and only a few cases have been reported in the literature, most of which were in the pediatric population, while adult VP shunt-associated ascites was even rarer. The patient in this case is a 32-year-old female who presented with ascites of unclear etiology. She had a history of VP shunt placement shortly after birth due to central nervous system (CNS) malformation (agenesis of the corpus callosum). Liver pathology, infection, and malignancy were ruled out as potential causes, and ascites was determined to be due to VP shunt drainage. The exact mechanism of development of ascites in these patients is not fully understood and needs to be investigated further to optimize preventative and therapeutic options.

Pancreatic schwannoma is a neuroendocrine cell tumor that arises in the pancreas. It is very rare, and, to date, only fewer than 70 similar cases have been reported in the literature. Here, we present another case of this type of tumor in a 68-year-old female.In addition to describing the pancreatic schwannoma, we discuss the major challenges associated with its diagnosis and management. As such, clinically and on imaging, pancreatic schwannomas are almost indistinguishable from other cancerous or benign pancreatic tumors. Therefore, only a biopsy can definitively diagnose pancreatic schwannomas by demonstrating spindle-shaped cells with immunohistochemistry positive for S-100.Because pancreatic schwannomas are very rare, it is important to increase awareness among clinicians about this condition and inform them regarding the challenges associated with its diagnosis and management.