1995 Volume 34 Issue 4 Pages 757-765
We attempted to evaluate the clinical and cytomorphological effects of multidisciplinary therapy on cases with primary breast cancer. Fifteen cases of clinically advanced (stage III or IV) breast cancer and 4 cases of recurrent breast cancer were treated with chemoendocrine therapy, irradiation or a combination of these modalities. Among these, 16 cases were evaluated as clinically effective (CR 2 cases, PR 14 cases). Cytomorphological changes were most marked in the nuclei of cancer cells. Changes in the concentration or distribution of chromatin (18 cases), and nuclear enlargement or deformation (16 cases), were frequent in cytologic specimens sampled following these therapies. However, vacuolization of nuclei (3 cases) or degenerative changes occurring in cytoplasma of cancer cells were less frequent than previously reported. Irradiation seemed to cause the most dramatic cytomorphological changes, as compared with chemoendocrine therapy. There seemed to be no relationship between cytomorphological changes and the clinical effects of these therapies.
