A Case of a Patient with a Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Complete Response of Lung, Mediastinal and Skeletal Metastases after Treatment with Paclitaxel and Bevacizumab

Overview

Backgrounds:
Metastatic breast cancer is a disease which is not curable. Thus, prolongation of survival with preserved or improved quality of life is the aim of the treatment. Three phase III studies (E2100, AVADO and RIBBON-1) showed the benefit of adding bevacizumab to the standard 1st line chemotherapy. Higher response rate and longer progression-free survival were achieved in these studies. Bevacizumab does not increase toxicity of the chemotherapy regimens. Since 2007 bevacizumab has been registered for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Observation:
Here we present the case of a patient in which bevacizumab treatment led to excellent results. Lobular breast cancer, pT2N0M0, ER-negative, PR-negative, HER2-negative was diagnosed in a 40-year-old woman in 2003. FAC adjuvant chemotherapy was used. Six years later, in March 2009, a relapse in mediastinal lymphatic nodes, the lungs, pleura and bones was detected. A weekly regimen of paclitaxel in combination with bevacizumab started in May 2009. Paclitaxel treatment finished in November 2009, bevacizumab continued for 11 months till April 2010, when complete remission in the lungs, mediastinum and bones was confirmed. Now only bisphosphonate is being continued.

Conclusion:
our experience also confirms the contribution of bevacizumab in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

Key words:
metastatic breast cancer – paclitaxel – bevacizumab