title: Complete response and long-term remission to anti-HER2 combined therapy in a patient with breast cancer presented with bone marrow metastases.
abstract: Presentation with bone marrow metastasis at diagnosis is a rare event in breast carcinoma. Here, we report a rare presentation of metastatic breast cancer patient with bone marrow metastases, who was successfully treated with trastuzumab combined chemotherapy. The regimens initially applied for bone marrow metastasis were docetaxel/adriamycin, gemcitabine/vinorelbine, epirubicin/cyclophosphamide, capecitabine, docetaxel, gemcitabine, and paclitaxel. But, the best response to these regimens was not satisfactory. Our patient was completely treated with etoposide-cisplatin and trastuzumab combination. She is still on remission after five years of metastatic breast cancer diagnosis using letrozole and trastuzumab without complication. Physicians should be careful in treating bone marrow metastases in breast cancer, since patients can show improved marrow function after chemotherapy and long-lasting survival is possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Meram Medical Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Artac
authors.forename: Lokman
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Koral
authors.forename: Hatice
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toy
authors.forename: Tunc
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guler
authors.forename: Melih C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Boruban
authors.forename: Kadri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Altundag
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: Metastatic breast cancer; bone marrow metastasis; trastuzumab