Advanced Locoregional Breast Cancer

Abstract

A 63-year-old woman lived for 24 months with cancer of the breast. She presented with a mass involving the entire left breast, tethering but not ulcerating the skin and multiple 2–3 cm axillary nodes in association with widespread asymptomatic bone metastases. Biopsy of the breast mass was adenocarcinoma estrogen receptor (ER) positive and progesterone receptor (PR) negative. She underwent chemotherapy with 50% shrinkage of the left breast mass. She then underwent a mastectomy after 6 months of chemotherapy. Treatment with doxorubicin (Adriamycin) was continued postoperatively, and she was placed on mitomycin. After 10 months of Adriamycin she entered the hospital with left ventricular failure, pulmonary edema and a low ejection fraction. Four months before her death, the patient began losing weight and had shortness of breath (SOB) with minor exertion. Her death was thought to be due to a pulmonary embolus.