Recurrent Breast Cancer Initially Mistaken for Organising Pneumonia
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive and GATA3-positive atypical pleural-fluid cells, suspicious for metastatic breast carcinoma
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- lungs
- Treatment
- surgery and hormone therapy
- Outcome
- Responding Well
Treatment course, step by step
- She underwent right mastectomy in 1998 and took tamoxifen for 5 years.
- After lung recurrence was confirmed, first-line hormone therapy was started.
- Treatment remained ongoing after 12 months of clinical and radiological improvement.
What happened, in summary
A 68-year-old woman developed a persistent dry cough and lost about 6 kg over 6 months. She had been treated for a 3 cm grade 2 invasive ductal cancer of the right breast in 1998. None of 10 lymph nodes contained cancer. She underwent right mastectomy and then took tamoxifen for 5 years.
New lung changes raised concern for recurrence, but a wedge resection showed organising pneumonia and no malignancy. She was treated with prednisolone for presumed cryptogenic organising pneumonia. After 12 weeks, breathlessness worsened, bilateral lung nodules progressed, and a pleural effusion appeared. Pleural fluid contained ER- and GATA3-positive atypical cells suspicious for breast-cancer spread. Repeat bronchoscopy then confirmed malignant cells from metastatic breast cancer.
First-line hormone therapy was started for the recurrence. After 12 months, she had significant clinical and radiological improvement, and treatment was continuing.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by PMC / PubMed Central. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
Collections this story belongs to
- Metastatic Breast Cancer 17 stories
- ER Positive Breast Cancer 242 stories
- Hormone Therapy for ER Positive Breast Cancer 136 stories
- Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer 447 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