Postoperative radiotherapy improves overall survival in patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast

Abstract

Background: Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast (PSCCB) is a rare clinical classification of breast tumors. Little is known about its clinicopathological features, prognosis and potential therapeutic strategies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) on patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the breast. Methods:We retrospectively analyzed patients diagnosed with PSCCB in our center. All pathological slides were reviewed by an experienced pathologist to confirm the diagnosis. Furthermore, we searched the public database for patients with SCC of the breast. Then, we analyzed the clinicopathological features, treatment methods and patient outcomes. Results:We identified 14 patients with primary SCC of the breast in our center. Additionally, 739 patients with SCC of the breast from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database were diagnosed between 1975 and 2016. Only 453 patients who underwent surgery were included in this study. Patients from the SEER database had a more advanced tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage than patients from our center. The median overall survival (OS) of all patients was 104 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 87.2-120.8 months), and the 5-year OS was 60.8% (95% CI, 56.1%-65.5%). Most of the patients (58%) tested negative for hormonal receptor expression.Multivariate analysis showed that PORT was an independent prognostic factor for OS. Conclusion:The results of our study demonstrate that SCC of the breast presents aggressive behavior with unique clinical characteristics. PORT improved OS significantly in patients with SCC of the breast. Longer-term studies are needed to confirm our findings.

FOXD1 promotes EMT and cell stemness of oral squamous cell carcinoma by transcriptional activation of SNAI2

“…Forkhead box D1 (FOXD1), a member of the Forkhead family, was first identified in the forebrain neuroepithelium and has been demonstrated to be a vital gene participating in the development of the kidney and retina [ 4 ]. Previous studies have shown that FOXD1 also participates in the development of various cancers, including liver cancer [ 5 ], cervical cancer [ 6 ], pancreatic cancer [ 7 ], breast cancer [ 8 ], and glioma [ 9 ]. For instance, Sun et al found that lncRNA NORAD promotes cell stemness and angiogenesis in liver cancer by regulating the miR-211-5p/FOXD1/VEGF-A axis [ 5 ]; Cheng et al found that FOXD1 can determine the renewal ability and tumorigenicity of glioma through transcriptional regulation of ALDH1A3 [ 9 ].…”

A case of squamous cell carcinoma of the breast achieved a pathological complete response after dose-dense AC + dose-dense PTX

“…However, in cases where a pCR was achieved in the primary tumor, all dissected axillary lymph nodes were found to be negative for metastases, resulting in a favorable prognosis. The incidence of lymph node metastasis has also been reported to be low in upfront surgery cases [ 16 ].…”

“…There is also evidence that postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) significantly improves overall survival in SCC of the breast, regardless of surgical technique [ 16 ]. In the current case, radiotherapy was administered to the supraclavicular and internal thoracic lymph nodes that were preoperatively positive for metastases, in addition to the breast that was preserved postoperatively.…”

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the breast in a young female‐ A rare ailment

“…Combined overexpression of EGFR and CK5/6 can be considered as independent prognostic factors for PSCC of the breast with some implication on use of EGFR inhibitors as a chemotherapy‐sensitizing agent 28 . A recent study conducted a multivariate analysis that demonstrated postoperative radiotherapy significantly improved overall survival for breast SCC patients 29 . This remains controversial, because locoregional relapse is frequent with an irradiated field pointing toward the radio‐resistant property of SCC of the breast 30 .…”

“…28 A recent study conducted a multivariate analysis that demonstrated postoperative radiotherapy significantly improved overall survival for breast SCC patients. 29 This remains controversial, because locoregional relapse is frequent with an irradiated field pointing toward the radio-resistant property of SCC of the breast. 30 However, considering the aggressive nature of the tumor, after completion of chemotherapy, our patient received radiotherapy and is planned to reassess the response to the treatment after completion of the treatment regime.…”