Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
CASE 1: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Rebecca B. is a 48-year-old premenopausal African American woman from Tampa, Florida who works as a nursing administrator for a home healthcare company.
In December 2009, patient presented to her PCP after detecting a mass in her right upper-outer quadrant on self exam; she was referred for imaging and further evaluation.
Mammography and ultrasound revealed a 2.5-cm mass
Core biopsy revealed moderately differentiated invasive ductal carcinoma that was ER-/PgR-; HER2 staining was negative by immunohistochemistry
Patient was referred for whole-breast MRI and surgical evaluation
Patient underwent a lumpectomy of the right breast with sentinel lymph node evaluation
Sentinel lymph node evaluation was positive; patient underwent axillary lymph node dissection
Malignant cells were detected in 1 sentinel and 2 axillary nodes (total 3 of 14 LN+); tumor classified as Stage 2B (T2N1M0)
Post surgery, patient received TAC chemotherapy with docetaxel (75 mg/m2 IV day 1), doxorubicin (50 mg/m2 IV day 1), and cyclophosphamide (500 mg/ m2 IV day 1, cycled every 21 days for 6 cycles), with pegfilgrastim support
Patient received radiation therapy for 6 weeks, including ipsilateral breast and regional nodes
Patient remained disease-free for approximately 3 years
In January 2013, the patient returned to her PCP complaining of intermittent right-upper quadrant pain, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss.
A subsequent CT scan revealed visceral metastases in the liver and lung; bone scan was negative
Liver biopsy was performed and specimen was sent for ER, PR, and HER2 determinations
Elacestrant-Abemaciclib Combo Shows Promise for Breast Cancer
September 19th 2024The ELECTRA trial found that the combination of elacestrant and abemaciclib was well-tolerated and showed promising clinical activity in patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who had previously received endocrine therapy and another CDK4/6 inhibitor.
Read More
Breast Cancer Leans into the Decade of Antibody-Drug Conjugates, Experts Discuss
September 25th 2020In season 1, episode 3 of Targeted Talks, the importance of precision medicine in breast cancer, and how that vitally differs in community oncology compared with academic settings, is the topic of discussion.
Listen
Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Extends Survival in Early-Stage TNBC
September 15th 2024In KEYNOTE-522, treatment with neoadjuvant pembrolizumab and chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, led to improvements in overall survival among patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
Read More