ISSN:
1569-8041
Schlagwort(e):
chemotherapy
;
Her2/neu
;
indolent
;
malignant
;
palliative care
;
secretory breast cancer
Quelle:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Thema:
Medizin
Notizen:
Abstract Secretory carcinoma of the breast is a rare and indolent tumour originallydescribed in children but occurring equally in the adult population. Theprincipal management problems following primary surgical treatment are localrecurrence and axillary lymph node metastases. Distant metastases areextremely rare. We present the case of a 27-year-old woman with pulmonary metastases froma secretory breast cancer treated by mastectomy and axillary lymph nodedissection 12 years previously. There was no response to chemotherapy; however, the patient remained aliveand active two years from presentation with metastatic disease and one yearfrom cessation of all cytotoxic chemotherapy. She eventually died ofrespiratory failure two and a half years after presentation. To our knowledge, this is only the fourth reported case of distantmetastases from secretory breast cancer and the second reported case in whichcurrent active chemotherapy has been used. We review the literature anddiscuss the apparent chemoresistance of this tumour including the lack ofmembrane staining for Her2/neu. In the absence of any proven effective chemotherapy we believe that symptomcontrol becomes the focus of management and offers patients with metastaticsecretory breast cancer the greatest chance of a functional and good qualityexistence.
Materialart:
Digitale Medien
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1008387800525
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