Male Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer With a Pathogenic PALB2 Variant
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Subtype
- Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive; PR-positive; HER2 not amplified; pathogenic PALB2 variant
- Sex
- male
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy and radiation
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Underwent left mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsy.
- Received chemotherapy after surgery.
- Received radiotherapy after surgery.
What happened, in summary
A 46-year-old man presented with a 4 cm irregular mass in his left breast. Biopsy showed an aggressive lobular-pattern breast cancer that was estrogen- and progesterone-receptor positive. HER2 testing was equivocal by staining but showed no gene amplification.
He underwent a left mastectomy with sentinel lymph-node biopsy. Final pathology confirmed grade 3 pleomorphic/solid invasive lobular carcinoma measuring 4 cm. The sentinel node contained scattered tumor cells. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed surgery. At 1-year follow-up, he was disease-free.
Because male breast cancer and several other cancers had occurred in his family, he underwent hereditary cancer testing. This identified a pathogenic PALB2 variant. The result provided a potential inherited-risk explanation for his cancer and was relevant to his relatives. Other family members had not yet undergone testing.
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
- ER Positive Breast Cancer 242 stories
- Chemotherapy for ER Positive Breast Cancer 143 stories
- Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer 726 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