A case of locally advanced breast cancer successfully treated by pre-operative systemic therapy using paclitaxel and trastuzumab

A 53-year-old woman with locally advanced breast cancer exhibiting skin edema and axial lymph-node swelling was treated by pre-operative systemic therapy. A core needle biopsy revealed the tumor to be a solid-tubular carcinoma which was hormone receptor-negative and HER2-positive. Six courses of an anthracycline-based regimen (5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide; FEC) and 6 weekly courses of paclitaxel concomitant with trastuzumab were sequentially administered. After those treatments, the tumor presented as clinically CR. An incisional biopsy of the left breast showed that the tumor was completely eliminated, with ductal carcinoma absent upon pathological examination.