title: Cirrhosis-like radiological pattern in patients with breast cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hepatic toxicity of breast cancer therapy is well known, usually consisting of elevation in the serum levels of hepatic enzymes or fatty infiltration of the liver. The chemotherapeutic agents most commonly linked to hepatotoxic effects are methotrexate, anthracyclines, taxanes and cyclophosphamide. There are few reports of patients with liver metastasis having radiological findings mimicking cirrhosis, both in the presence or the absence of prior systemic chemotherapy. Hepatotoxicity of antineoplastic drugs and cellular necrosis induced by response of liver metastases to chemotherapy may play a critical role in its physiopathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article reports a series of ten women with breast cancer (nine with liver metastasis) treated with chemotherapy or hormonotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  They had low risk factors for hepatic disease, but developed a cirrhosis-like appearance in the computed tomography scan. The patient without liver metastasis is the second of this kind described in the literature. Relatively few reports have documented clinical sequelae of portal hypertension. In our series, three patients had oesophageal bleeding varices needing be hospitalised. To our knowledge, these are the first cases reported in the literature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This suggests that some manifestations of portal hypertension may develop in association with the cirrhosis- like pattern induced by breast cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain. c_gomezraposo@hotmail.com
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gómez Raposo
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Redondo Sánchez
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guerra-Gutiérrez
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Castelo Fernández
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gómez Senent
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Espinosa Arranz
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martínez Martínez
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zamora Auñón
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: González Barón
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed