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Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer: Second...
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Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer: Second Edition

A Special Issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418) belonging to the section "Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2026) | Viewed by 2113

Editors

Dr. Fulvio Borella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Università degli Studi di Torino (UNITO), Turin, Italy
Interests: cancer biology; gynecologic oncology; tumor biomarkers; cancer diagnostics; breast cancer; ovarian cancer; endometrial cancer; vulvar cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Isabella Castellano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
Interests: breast pathology; immunohistochemistry; molecular biology; oncology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers among women worldwide. Early diagnosis and effective management are crucial to improving the survival and quality of life of patients. However, there are still many challenges and gaps in the current knowledge and practice of breast cancer diagnosis and management. This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advances and innovations in this field, covering topics such as molecular and genetic biomarkers, imaging techniques, surgical and non-surgical treatments, personalized and precision medicine and supportive and palliative care. The Special Issue will also highlight the current controversies and future directions of breast cancer research and clinical practice. We invite original research articles, review articles and perspectives from experts and researchers in the field of breast cancer to contribute to this Special Issue.

Dr. Fulvio Borella
Dr. Isabella Castellano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • prognostic and predictive factors
  • breast carcinoma
  • phylloid tumor
  • immunohistochemistry
  • diagnosis
  • breast cancer

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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12 pages, 2132 KB  
Article
Focal Thyroid Incidentalomas on PET/CT Among Breast Cancer Patients: Referral Patterns and Diagnostic Outcomes
by Majd Asakly, Adi Sharabi-Nov, Moran Barazani-Avitan, Jamal Gantus, Ahmad Khalaila, Haia Darawshi, Rabie Shehadeh, Asaf Bin Simon, Yaniv Avraham, Michael Edelstein, Moshe Bocher, Israel Sandler, Fauzi Artul, Aviva Ron and Shlomo Merchavy
Diagnostics 2026, 16(14), 2231; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16142231 - 16 Jul 2026
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Abstract
Background: The increasing use of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in patients with breast cancer has led to a growing number of incidentally detected thyroid lesions. Thyroid incidentaloma refers to a focal area of increased metabolic activity [...] Read more.
Background: The increasing use of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in patients with breast cancer has led to a growing number of incidentally detected thyroid lesions. Thyroid incidentaloma refers to a focal area of increased metabolic activity within the thyroid gland. Up to 35% of focal thyroid incidentalomas are malignant. Early detection of thyroid carcinoma may allow less invasive surgical management and reduce the need for more extensive treatment associated with advanced disease, including total thyroidectomy, neck dissection, and radioactive iodine therapy. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of focal thyroid incidentaloma and incidental thyroid carcinoma detected on PET/CT scans performed in breast cancer patients at a single tertiary medical center serving a highly ethnically diverse population. Methods: Medical records and PET/CT scans were retrospectively reviewed at a single medical center. Data collected included the presence of thyroid incidentaloma, maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), thyroid cytology, primary malignancy type, breast cancer status, ethnicity, and age. A total of 1233 patients with cancer who underwent PET/CT imaging and received treatment at ZIV Medical Center between August 2018 and December 2024 were included. Forty-two patients with primary thyroid carcinoma or head and neck carcinoma were excluded. Patients were categorized into breast cancer and non-breast cancer groups and compared regarding the prevalence of thyroid incidentaloma, referral rates for further evaluation by head and neck specialists, and the rate of incidental thyroid carcinoma. Results: Among 330 patients with breast cancer, 16 (4.8%) had a focal incidental thyroid finding, compared with 24 (2.8%) of 861 patients with non-breast malignancies who underwent PET/CT imaging. Among the 16 breast cancer patients with thyroid incidentaloma, thyroid carcinoma was subsequently confirmed in 4 patients (25%) who underwent further evaluation. The proportion of patients with confirmed thyroid carcinoma among those with incidentalomas was 1.2% (4/330) in the breast cancer group compared with 0.46% (4/861) in the non-breast cancer group. Approximately half of the patients in both groups were referred for further thyroid evaluation. Among breast cancer patients, non-significant trends toward higher referral rates were observed in patients with non-advanced disease, higher SUVs, and Jewish ethnicity. Nearly all patients evaluated by head and neck specialists underwent fine-needle aspiration (FNA). The mean SUV among patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) on FNA (n = 8; breast and non-breast cancer combined) was 15.2 (IQR: 7.3–17.0), compared with 5.2 (IQR: 5.0–6.0) among patients with benign cytology (n = 5; p = 0.011). Conclusions: Thyroid incidentalomas identified on PET/CT scans in breast cancer patients were relatively common in this cohort, and a proportion of evaluated lesions were subsequently diagnosed as thyroid carcinoma. Referral and diagnostic follow-up rates were variable, with approximately half of patients referred for further evaluation and only one-third attending a head and neck clinic. Given the retrospective design, limited number of biopsy-confirmed cases, and potential verification bias, these findings should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, they highlight the importance of clinical awareness and support individualized assessment of PET/CT-detected thyroid incidentalomas rather than broad management recommendations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer: Second Edition)
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11 pages, 836 KB  
Case Report
Management of Hepatic Visceral Crisis Using Chemoimmunotherapy in PD-L1-High Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Case Report
by Larisa Maria Badau, Paul Epure, Madalin-Marius Margan, Andrei Dorin Ciocoiu, Gabriel-Mugurel Dragomir and Brigitha Vlaicu
Diagnostics 2026, 16(6), 924; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16060924 - 20 Mar 2026
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Patients with metastatic breast cancer and visceral crisis are systematically excluded from clinical trials, leaving clinicians without evidence-based therapeutic guidance. To the best of our knowledge, no published reports have described the use of combined chemo-immunotherapy in mTNBC complicated by hepatic visceral [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Patients with metastatic breast cancer and visceral crisis are systematically excluded from clinical trials, leaving clinicians without evidence-based therapeutic guidance. To the best of our knowledge, no published reports have described the use of combined chemo-immunotherapy in mTNBC complicated by hepatic visceral crisis. Case presentation: We report the case of a 45-year-old woman with PD-L1-high recurrent TNBC who presented with acute, life-threatening hepatic failure. Laboratory evaluation revealed marked transaminase elevation, cholestasis, rising bilirubin levels, and clinical deterioration consistent with hepatic visceral crisis. Due to severe hepatic impairment, a sequential therapeutic strategy was adopted: treatment was initiated with dose-reduced weekly paclitaxel (80% of the standard dose), and pembrolizumab (200 mg every three weeks) was introduced at the fourth cycle. Shortly after immunotherapy initiation, the patient experienced rapid clinical improvement accompanied by significant biochemical recovery and radiologic tumor regression. Although disease progression occurred after four months, hepatic visceral crisis did not recur. Discussion: This case questions the conventional restriction of immunotherapy in the setting of severe hepatic dysfunction. The rapid biochemical recovery observed after pembrolizumab initiation suggests that immunologic antitumor activity may be preserved despite significant hepatic impairment. Furthermore, the high PD-L1 expression in this patient indicates that its predictive value may extend even to the context of visceral crisis. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy may represent a feasible therapeutic strategy in selected patients with PD-L1-high mTNBC presenting with hepatic visceral crisis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Breast Cancer: Second Edition)
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