Stage III HER2-Positive Occult Breast Cancer With a Complete Response to Treatment
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Biomarkers
- HER2-positive, hormone receptor-negative
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery and radiation
- Outcome
- Responding Well
Treatment course, step by step
- Received 6 cycles of docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab before surgery.
- Underwent modified radical mastectomy.
- Completed radiotherapy.
- Continued trastuzumab and pertuzumab after surgery.
What happened, in summary
A 43-year-old woman sought care after a left axillary lump had grown over about 6 months. Mammography, ultrasound, and MRI did not reveal a primary breast mass, but biopsy of an enlarged axillary lymph node showed high-grade carcinoma consistent with breast origin. The tumor was hormone receptor-negative and HER2-positive. With disease in the axillary nodes but no detectable breast primary or distant spread, the cancer was classified as Stage III occult breast cancer.
She received 6 cycles of docetaxel and carboplatin combined with trastuzumab and pertuzumab. She then underwent a modified radical mastectomy. Pathology found no residual tumor in the breast and no cancer in 20 lymph nodes, representing a complete pathologic response.
Radiotherapy followed in September 2022, and trastuzumab and pertuzumab were continued afterward. Her surgical pathology showed a complete response to the preoperative treatment, with no residual cancer found in the breast or the 20 examined lymph nodes.
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
- Stage 3 Breast Cancer 131 stories
- HER2 Positive Breast Cancer 136 stories
- Carboplatin for Breast Cancer 73 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