Breast Cancer Recurs After a 19-Year Remission and Responds to Later Chemotherapy
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- Initial tumor: PR-positive, ER-negative, HER2-negative. Recurrence: ER-positive, PR-negative, HER2-negative
- Sex
- female
- Spread to
- bones
- Treatment
- surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and endocrine therapy
- Outcome
- Responding Well
Treatment course, step by step
- Underwent breast-conserving surgery with axillary lymph-node dissection in 2001.
- Received 6 courses of epirubicin plus vinorelbine, followed by radiotherapy and 5 years of tamoxifen.
- After recurrence in 2020, received multiple chemotherapy and endocrine regimens with limited benefit.
- In 2022, received 10 cycles of utidelone plus capecitabine for metastatic disease.
What happened, in summary
A 57-year-old woman had first been treated for left-breast cancer in 2001. She underwent breast-conserving surgery with axillary lymph-node dissection, and pathology showed invasive ductal carcinoma with 5 of 18 lymph nodes involved. She then received 6 courses of epirubicin plus vinorelbine, completed breast radiotherapy, and took tamoxifen for 5 years.
After a 19-year remission, a new mass appeared in the left breast in 2020 and biopsy confirmed recurrent breast cancer. The recurrent tumor was estrogen-receptor positive, progesterone-receptor negative, and HER2-negative. Multiple chemotherapy and endocrine regimens provided limited benefit as the breast mass continued to enlarge. By 2022, imaging showed metastatic disease involving bone, making this a Stage IV course.
She then started utidelone plus capecitabine. After 10 cycles, tumor markers fell and the breast mass shrank markedly. She completed chemotherapy in good general condition and had 10 months of progression-free survival. This documented response occurred more than 21 years after her original breast-cancer diagnosis.
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 4 Breast Cancer 295 stories
- Stage 4 ER Positive Breast Cancer 87 stories
- ER Positive Breast Cancer 242 stories
- Capecitabine for Breast Cancer 43 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