A Pilot Study to Evaluate Nipple-Areolar Complex (NAC) Sparing Mastectomy

August 23, 2013 updated by: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
The goal of this study is to study nipple-areolar complex (NAC) sparing mastectomy as an alternative procedure to the standard skin-sparing mastectomy for women who have breast cancer or are at high-risk for developing breast cancer. You have been asked to take part in this study because your treating surgeon feels you are a candidate for skin-sparing mastectomy and because you want breast reconstruction after surgery. Outcomes that will be measured include how much nipple sensation can be kept after surgery; how satisfied you are with how the breast looks after surgery; complication rates; and your quality-of-life.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Operative Procedure:

You will have a skin-sparing mastectomy performed with preservation of the NAC. During surgery, the tissue will be tested while you are still under general anesthesia.

The NAC may be removed completely during the surgery if malignant cells are found during the testing done during the surgery or if suspicious cells that are not clearly benign cells are found. This will be up to your doctor. The NAC may also be removed surgically if the primary tumor is found to be located less than an inch from the border of the NAC, or you are found to have breast cancer with multiple "center" sites. The nipple can also be removed by itself, with the areola spared (this is called "areolar-sparing mastectomy") if your doctor is worried about its blood supply. These decisions will be made by your pathologist and treating surgeon.

You will then undergo immediate reconstruction, with either your own tissue, prosthetic tissue, or a combination of the two. This is up to your plastic surgeon. You will have met with your plastic surgeon before surgery to discuss the best reconstructive method for you, and you will be given an informed consent to sign at that time with details about the method you decide to use.

The breast tissue under the NAC will be biopsied and tested after your surgery. After that tissue has been tested, a second surgery may be needed if cancer cells are found, the tumor is too close to the NAC, or it has more than 1 "center" site. You will have the whole NAC removed in a separate operation. The place where the NAC was removed will be repaired by a plastic surgeon, who will choose the best method to get an acceptable cosmetic result. This may involve one or more extra surgeries, and you will be given separate informed consent documents to sign for each surgery.

Follow-up and Questionnaires:

If you agree to take part in this study, 4 sensory tests will be conducted on both breasts using a variety of hand-held devices. These tests are painless and will be performed at regularly scheduled follow-up visits in clinic. They will measure nipple and areolar sensitivity, as well as nipple erectibility. The tests will involve the placement of fibers of various thicknesses and blunt metal probes on the skin of your nipple and areola. All tests will be performed once before the surgery and then at about 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery, at your follow-up clinic visits.

Your breasts will be photographed at your 6-month and 1-year follow-up visits after surgery. At these visits, you will look at those photographs to decide how satisfied you are with how the breasts look. Two (2) plastic surgeons not directly involved in your surgery will also study those photographs by themselves and fill out a similar questionnaire rating their impression of the results of your plastic surgery. These results will not be made available to you. You will also complete 2 quality-of-life questionnaires within 1 month of your surgery, and then at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years after surgery (+/- 1 month). The questionnaires will ask questions about nipple sensation, cosmetic outcomes, complications, and your quality of life. The questionnaires will take about 30 minutes to complete.

Length of Study:

You will remain on study for up to 5 years.

This is an investigational study. Up to 37 patients will take part in this study. All will be enrolled at MD Anderson.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
37

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • UT MD Anderson Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with breast cancer.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients desiring prophylactic mastectomy with immediate reconstruction
  2. Patients with Stage 0, I, or II breast cancer who are candidates for and desire skin-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction
  3. Tumor location greater than or equal to 2.5 cm from the border of the NAC based on preoperative imaging and/or clinical exam
  4. Patients must sign an informed consent and be registered before the procedure is performed

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with cancer involvement of the NAC on clinical exam, defined as induration, retraction, fixation, ulceration, or pathologic nipple discharge
  2. Patients with subareolar tumor locations, tumors located < 2.5 cm from the border of the NAC
  3. Patients with Paget's disease of the nipple
  4. Patients who have locally advanced breast cancer manifesting as inflammatory breast cancer or gross involvement of the mastectomy skin
  5. Patients with history of prior surgery involving a periareolar incision
  6. Patients desiring a concomitant ipsilateral reduction mammoplasty at time of mastectomy
  7. Patients with macromastia as defined by the plastic surgeon
  8. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 kg/m2
  9. Patients who actively smoke
  10. Patients with known collagen vascular disease
  11. Patients with prior ipsilateral chest wall irradiation less than 12 months from their time of surgery

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Control
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
NAC Sparing Mastectomy
A skin-sparing mastectomy performed with preservation of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC). Questionnaires taking about 20-30 minutes to complete.
Procedure: NAC Sparing Mastectomy
A skin-sparing mastectomy performed with preservation of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC).
Behavioral: Questionnaire
Questionnaires taking about 20-30 minutes to complete.
Other Names:
  • Survey

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Nipple Sensation Evaluation (following NAC sparing mastectomy)
Time Frame: Within first month postoperatively, then at 3 months, 6 month, 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years postoperatively (each interval +/- 1 month)
Within first month postoperatively, then at 3 months, 6 month, 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years postoperatively (each interval +/- 1 month)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Gildy V. Babiera, MD, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 2, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 2, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 4, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 26, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 23, 2013

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2007-0194

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Breast Cancer

Clinical Trials on NAC Sparing Mastectomy

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings