Stage III Breast Cancer Complicated by a Large Liver Abscess
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- ER-positive, HER2-negative
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, endocrine therapy and surgery
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- Received 4 cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by 12 weekly paclitaxel treatments.
- Received preoperative anastrozole.
- Underwent right total mastectomy.
- Continued adjuvant anastrozole after surgery.
What happened, in summary
A 73-year-old woman had lived with a right breast mass for about a year before presenting with abdominal pain and other symptoms. Examination showed a large ulcerated breast tumor, and CT imaging also found a major liver abscess and blood clots in both lungs. The liver abnormality was infectious rather than a breast-cancer metastasis.
Repeat biopsy of the breast mass showed invasive ductal carcinoma with mucinous features. The tumor was estrogen-receptor positive and HER2-negative, and the right axillary lymph node also contained cancer. PET imaging found regional nodal involvement but no distant spread. The cancer was Stage III.
After treatment of the infection, she received 4 cycles of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by 12 weekly paclitaxel treatments. She also received anastrozole before surgery. She then underwent a right total mastectomy and continued anastrozole afterward. At the latest point described, radiation oncology and surgical follow-up were 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
- Stage 3 Breast Cancer 131 stories
- ER Positive Breast Cancer 242 stories
- Anastrozole for Breast Cancer 71 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