International journal of clinical oncology
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Int. J. Clin. Oncol. · Aug 2005
Case ReportsUnknown primary carcinoma, diagnosed as inflammatory breast cancer,and successfully treated with trastuzumab and vinorelbine.
Occult breast cancer presenting with axillary lymph node metastases is uncommon, and inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), as a subtype, is quite rare. Here we describe a case of IBC, which arose as an unknown primary carcinoma; the patient presented with axillary lymph node metastasis, and was successfully treated with trastuzumab and vinorelbine. Specifically, a 55-year-old woman presented with right axillary lymphadenopathy. ⋯ Because overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was found in the specimen from her right axillary lymph node, she was treated with trastuzumab and vinorelbine. Two months after the start of chemotherapy, CT revealed a complete response in the lymph nodes, and the skin thickening and parenchymal edema of the right breast had improved. FDG-PET was also performed at this time, and revealed no FDG uptake in either the right breast or the lymph nodes.