Rare Reversed-Polarity Breast Cancer in a 59-Year-Old Woman
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Biomarkers
- HER2-negative, weak ER and PR expression, IDH2 mutation, PIK3CA mutation
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- surgery
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Underwent excision of the breast tumor with sentinel lymph node biopsy.
- No chemotherapy, radiation, or hormone therapy was given after surgery.
What happened, in summary
A 59-year-old woman noticed a lump in the lower outer area of her left breast. Imaging showed a suspicious mass measuring roughly 2 to 2.5 cm, and needle sampling found tumor cells. She underwent surgical excision of the breast lesion together with a sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Final pathology identified a rare breast cancer called tall cell carcinoma with reversed polarity. The tumor measured 2.2 cm, and all 5 sampled sentinel lymph nodes were negative. Testing showed HER2 negativity with weak estrogen- and progesterone-receptor expression. Molecular testing also found IDH2 and PIK3CA mutations, findings that supported the diagnosis of this uncommon tumor type.
Because the tumor was considered relatively indolent and the lymph nodes were negative, she did not receive chemotherapy, radiation, or hormone therapy after surgery. At 6 months of follow-up, she was alive and disease-free.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
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Collections this story belongs to
- Surgery for Breast Cancer 960 stories
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer