Scholars@Duke
Carolyn Sue Menendez

Carolyn Sue Menendez

Assistant Professor of Surgery
Surgical Oncology

Selected Publications

High risk surveillance MRI may not be necessary in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers over 70 years old.

Journal Article Breast Cancer Res Treat · February 27, 2025 BACKGROUND: The risk of developing breast cancer up to age 80 for women with BRCA1/2 mutations is approximately 69-72%. The risk estimates, however, become labile in the later years of life. Many older BRCA1/2 mutation carriers who have not developed breas ... Full text Link to item Cite

Germline genetic mutations in a multi-center cohort of 248 phyllodes tumors.

Journal Article Breast Cancer Res Treat · January 2025 PURPOSE: Germline genetic mutations in women with phyllodes tumors (PT) are understudied, although some describe associations of PT with various mutations. We sought to determine the prevalence of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in women with ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rates of Pathologic Complete Response and Overall Survival in Patients with Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A National Cancer Database Study.

Conference Ann Surg Oncol · November 2024 BACKGROUND: Patients with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) have worse survival compared with stage III non-IBC matched cohorts; however, the prognostic significance of achieving pathologic complete response (pCR) in the setting of IBC is not well described ... Full text Link to item Cite

Germline Genetic Testing for Patients with Breast Atypia

Conference ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY · 2024 Cite

NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic, Version 2.2024.

Journal Article J Natl Compr Canc Netw · October 2023 The NCCN Guidelines for Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic focus primarily on assessment of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants associated with increased risk of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer, ... Full text Link to item Cite

Abstract P1-06-02: The effect of race on pathologic complete response rates and overall survival in patients with triple negative breast cancer

Conference Cancer Research · March 1, 2023 AbstractIntroduction: Despite the recent overall improvement in survival for patients with breast cancer, racial disparities in outcomes persist. While studies have demonstrated that socioeconomic factors an ... Full text Cite

Concordance Between Genomic Alterations Detected by Tumor and Germline Sequencing: Results from a Tertiary Care Academic Center Molecular Tumor Board.

Journal Article Oncologist · January 18, 2023 OBJECTIVE: The majority of tumor sequencing currently performed on cancer patients does not include a matched normal control, and in cases where germline testing is performed, it is usually run independently of tumor testing. The rates of concordance betwe ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

High Risk Screening in Women with BRCA1/2 Mutations Age 70 and Above

Conference ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY · 2023 Cite

The Influence of Body Mass Index on the Histopathology and Outcomes of Patients Diagnosed with Atypical Breast Lesions.

Conference Ann Surg Oncol · October 2022 BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have demonstrated a link between obesity and breast cancer; however, the potential association between obesity and atypical high-risk breast lesions has not been well characterized. We sought to evaluate the characteristics and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disease characteristics and mortality among Asian women with breast cancer.

Conference Cancer · March 1, 2022 BACKGROUND: Asian women with breast cancer are often studied in aggregate, belying significant intragroup diversity. The authors sought to examine differences in breast cancer characteristics and outcomes among Asian women. METHODS: Asian, non-Hispanic Bla ... Full text Link to item Cite

Utilization of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk, node-negative early breast cancer.

Journal Article Cancer Med · February 2022 BACKGROUND: Controversy exists regarding the optimal sequence of chemotherapy among women with operable node-negative breast cancers with high-risk tumor biology. We evaluated national patterns of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) use among women with early- ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disparities in Genetic Testing for Heritable Solid-Tumor Malignancies.

Journal Article Surg Oncol Clin N Am · January 2022 Genetic testing offers providers a potentially life saving tool for identifying and intervening in high-risk individuals. However, disparities in receipt of genetic testing have been consistently demonstrated and undoubtedly have significant implications f ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns on planned cancer surgery for 15 tumour types in 61 countries: an international, prospective, cohort study.

Journal Article Lancet Oncol · November 2021 BACKGROUND: Surgery is the main modality of cure for solid cancers and was prioritised to continue during COVID-19 outbreaks. This study aimed to identify immediate areas for system strengthening by comparing the delivery of elective cancer surgery during ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mortality in Older Patients with Breast Cancer Undergoing Breast Surgery: How Low is "Low Risk"?

Conference Ann Surg Oncol · October 2021 BACKGROUND: Breast surgery carries a low risk of postoperative mortality. For older patients with multiple comorbidities, even low-risk procedures can confer some increased perioperative risk. We sought to identify factors associated with postoperative mor ... Full text Link to item Cite

Hereditary Cancer Counseling and Germline Genetic Testing

Chapter · September 15, 2021 Screening for inherited predisposition to cancer and germline genetic testing are part of the standard of care for breast cancer management, with implications for immediate and survivorship management. The advent of multigene next-generation sequencing pan ... Full text Link to item Cite

Characterizing participants in the North Carolina Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program: A retrospective review of 90,000 women.

Conference Cancer · July 15, 2021 BACKGROUND: The North Carolina Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (NC BCCCP) provides breast cancer screening services to underserved women to mitigate disparities in access to care. The authors sought to characterize this understudied population. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic, Version 2.2021, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

Journal Article J Natl Compr Canc Netw · January 6, 2021 The NCCN Guidelines for Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic focus primarily on assessment of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants associated with increased risk of breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer and recommende ... Full text Link to item Cite

Implementation of a Molecular Tumor Registry to Support the Adoption of Precision Oncology Within an Academic Medical Center: The Duke University Experience.

Journal Article JCO Precis Oncol · 2021 UNLABELLED: Comprehensive genomic profiling to inform targeted therapy selection is a central part of oncology care. However, the volume and complexity of alterations uncovered through genomic profiling make it difficult for oncologists to choose the most ... Full text Link to item Cite

Do Histopathology and Clinical Outcomes of Breast Atypia Vary by Race/Ethnicity?

Journal Article J Surg Res · November 2020 BACKGROUND: The clinical behavior of breast cancer varies by racial and ethnic makeup (REM), but the impact of REM on the clinical outcomes of breast atypia remains understudied. We examined the impact of REM on risk of underlying or subsequent carcinoma f ... Full text Link to item Cite

NCCN Guidelines Insights: Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic, Version 1.2020.

Journal Article J Natl Compr Canc Netw · April 2020 The NCCN Guidelines for Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment: Breast, Ovarian, and Pancreatic provide recommendations for genetic testing and counseling for hereditary cancer syndromes, and risk management recommendations for patients who are diagnosed wi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic counseling referrals after next generation sequencing testing.

Conference JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY · 2020 Cite

DCIS with Microinvasion: Is It In Situ or Invasive Disease?

Conference Ann Surg Oncol · October 2019 BACKGROUND: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with microinvasion (DCISM) can be challenging in balancing the risks of overtreatment versus undertreatment. We compared DCISM, pure DCIS, and small volume (T1a) invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) as related to hist ... Full text Link to item Cite

The Influence of Age on the Histopathology and Prognosis of Atypical Breast Lesions.

Journal Article J Surg Res · September 2019 BACKGROUND: Although several prognostic variables and risk factors for breast cancer are age-related, the association between age and risk of cancer with breast atypia is controversial. This study aimed to compare the type of breast atypia and risk of unde ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Germline Genetic Testing: What the Breast Surgeon Needs to Know.

Journal Article Ann Surg Oncol · July 2019 PURPOSE: The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) sought to provide educational guidelines for breast surgeons on how to incorporate genetic information and genomics into their practice. METHODS: A comprehensive nonsystematic review was performed of ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Genetic testing for hereditary breast cancer: The decision to decline.

Conference Journal of Clinical Oncology · May 20, 2015 Full text Cite