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RACS ASC 2024

An audit of Breast Cancer Surgical Pathology in a Single Institution Centre and Effect of Specimen Handling

Poster

Poster

Disciplines

Breast Surgery

Presentation Description

Institution: Northern Adelaide Local Health Network - South Australia, Australia

Purpose Breast cancer remains a significant global health challenge. The management of breast cancer is heavily dependent on accurate radiological and pathological assessment of the original tumour. This study seeks to audit two aspects of breast cancer surgical pathology within a single institution. The first aim is to compare the local breast cancer cohort tumour characteristics and distribution to that of international reported comparators. And the second is to verify the concordance between the original core biopsy result and the final resection pathological specimen (particularly tumour grade and receptor status). Methodology A retrospective assessment of data from patients with breast cancer from January 2018 to March 2023 at the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) in South Australia was undertaken. This was obtained from electronic medical records and data requests from Breast Surg ANZ. The clinicopathological characteristics and treatment details were analysed and compared. Results There were 713 cases of breast invasive cancer and DCIS managed at the NALHN. There were 634 cases of invasive cancers and 71 cases of ductal carcinoma-in-situ. In our cohort, the distribution of tumour grades 1, 2 and 3 are 12.1% (77/634), 37.7% (239/634) and 40.9% (259/634), respectively. This is a deviation from international estimates thus further analysis of tissue handling procedures is warranted. Conclusion There is a higher-than-average rate of grade 3 tumours in our cohort. Further research is required to assess the effects of this on patient outcomes to provide equitable healthcare for all.

Speakers

Authors

Authors

Dr Kimberley Tan - , Dr Boyuan Mao - , Dr Stephen Kinsey-Trotman - , Dr Subhita Prasannan -