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Query: UMLS:C0006142 (breast cancer)
 160,383 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cancer of the lung which was almost unknown before 1930 is the most rapidly increasing cancer. It is certainly the cause of most cancer deaths in men. Women are not far behind, and it is said that cancer of the lung in women will surpass breast cancer in the next several years. This article will evaluate the suspect patient who visits his family doctor with one or more of the cardinal signs of cough, hemoptysis, chest pain, or shortness of breath and will establish the diagnosis by x-ray, bronchoscopy, cytology, and tissue biopsy. As the staging is evolved, treatment is dictated, which may take several forms: chemotherapy, radiologic, surgical, or a combination of any of the three. Probably more important is the symptomatic treatment of various side ailments. All of this must be accomplished with conscientious care and concern.
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PMID:The evaluation of the patient for lung cancer. 685 May 23

Six patients with breast cancer developed pulmonary toxicity following mitomycin therapy. The presenting symptoms were shortness of breath and a dry cough. The radiological pictures varied from a normal chest x-ray to extensive bilateral pneumonitis. The histological findings consisted of diffuse alveolar damage progressing to interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Corticosteroid therapy resulted in complete resolution of pneumonia in one patient. Respiratory symptoms improved in 3 patients following discontinuation of the drug. Two patients with extensive bilateral pneumonitis, who were not treated with steroids, died of respiratory failure. Mitomycin-induced lung toxicity appears to be reversible with the discontinuation of drug and the administration of corticosteroids. Lung biopsy is necessary in order to rule out other diagnoses.
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PMID:Pulmonary toxicity of mitomycin. 735 Oct 10

Metastasis to the breast from extramammary malignancies is rare, but its recognition is important because the prognosis and treatment differ from that of primary breast cancer. We report a case of ovarian cancer with metastasis to the breast, which was found at the time of presentation. A 57-year-old woman presented with shortness of breath and was found to have a malignant pleural effusion. A right breast nodule contained papillary adenocarcinoma. Laparotomy showed bilateral ovarian papillary cystadenocarcinoma with dissemination in the peritoneal cavity. DNA image analysis showed multiple aneuploid stem lines. Immunohistochemical staining was positive with ovarian tumor marker OC125 but negative with breast tumor marker gross cystic disease fluid protein-15 (GCDFP-15) and estrogen receptor. The breast specimen was positive with OV632, a more specific tumor marker for ovarian cancer, thus favoring the ovary as the site of the primary tumor.
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PMID:Ovarian carcinoma metastasis to the breast case report and review of the literature. 842 14

Many patients diagnosed with breast cancer will develop metastases and these have diverse presentations. We have reviewed 100 consecutive patients who have died with metastatic breast cancer, to determine the frequency, sites and mode of presentation of recurrent disease. The commonest site of failure was loco-regional (n = 61), this usually presented with a mass, but a minority of patients also complained of pain. Bone metastases developed in 60 patients and produced bone pain, pathological fracture (n = 6) or cord compression (n = 5). Pulmonary metastases producing shortness of breath were diagnosed in 34 patients and were asymptomatic in a further 10. Intra-abdominal metastases were found at some time in 23 patients, most commonly in the liver (n = 20) and the majority complained of epigastric pain (n = 17). Brain metastases occurred in 23 patients and produced a wide range of symptoms including those of a space-occupying lesion (n = 10), cranial nerve palsy (n = 7), diabetes insipidus (n = 3), focal limb weakness (n = 2) and meningitis (n = 1). Three patients had choroid metastases producing reduced visual acuity. Recurrent breast carcinoma can present in a variety of ways, therefore any new symptom or sign should be considered to represent recurrence until proved otherwise.
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PMID:Patterns of clinical metastasis in breast cancer: an analysis of 100 patients. 863 4

A 49-year-old woman was diagnosed with local recurrence and cervical lymph node and bone metastases 55 months after surgery for breast cancer. She was treated with goserelin acetate and tamoxifen but the disease was assessed as progressive after 8 months. Five courses of CMF therapy were performed but lung, pleural and mediastinal lymph node metastases were detected. Then, five courses of CAF therapy were carried out, but a contralateral breast metastasis was detected and the patient complained of shortness of breath. The CAF therapy was assessed as PD. We attempted administration of doxifluridine (5'-DFUR) and mitomycin C (MMC) on an outpatient basis. After 6 months, no progressive disease was detected and she was relieved of her shortness of breath. The combination therapy was assessed as long NC. Combination therapy with 5'-DFUR and MMC is thus a useful treatment for adriamycin- and methotrexate-resistant breast cancer, especially in terms of quality of life.
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PMID:[A case of adriamycin and methotrexate-resistant recurrent breast cancer treated with doxifluridine and mitomycin C]. 1047 88

With the FDA approval of Rituximab in 1998 for the treatment of lymphoma, and Trastuzumab in 1999 for the treatment of breast cancer, monoclonal antibodies were officially added to the therapeutic armamentarium against malignancy. Most of the side effects associated with these agents are due to antigen-antibody interactions on specific cells and tissues. One of the most predictable side effects of these products is a constellation of various systemic effects including flu-like symptoms such as headache, fever, sweats, skin rash, shortness of breath, hypotension, nausea, and asthenia that occurs with the first infusion of such products. Rarely severe hypotension, bronchospasm, and hypoxia and even death have occurred. The pathophysiology of these reactions appears to be secondary to the release of cytokines as the antibodies bind do circulating antigen-expressing cells that are then removed in the reticuloendothelial system of the lungs, spleen and liver. In patients with large numbers of antigen-dense cells that have a high mitotic index, such as prolymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, or lymphosarcoma cell leukemia, there is a risk of true tumor lysis syndrome. One should be particularly cautious when treating patients with high numbers of circulating antigen-expressing cells in the setting of underlying cardiovascular or respiratory disease.
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PMID:Infusion reactions associated with the therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of malignancy. 1085 89

The "magic bullet" era of targeted cancer therapy began with the United States Food and Drug Administration approval of rituximab for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma in the late fall of 1997. Since then, several additional anticancer antibody products have received regulatory approval, including the monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) trastuzumab for breast cancer and alemtuzumab for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and the MoAb immunoconjugates gemtuzumab ozogamicin for acute myelogenous leukemia and yttrium 90 ibritumomab tiuxetan for B-cell lymphoma. These products are associated with adverse events that are quite different than those seen with chemotherapy. Adverse events associated with MoAb products typically have 1 of 3 etiologies: direct and indirect effects of antibody-antigen interaction, effects of toxins or radioisotopes that have been conjugated to antibodies, and allergic and hypersensitivity reactions to foreign protein. The infusion-related symptom complex is the most common and predictable side effect associated with all MoAbs that react with circulating blood cells. This pattern of various systemic effects includes flu-like symptoms such as headache, shortness of breath, fever, skin rash, hypotension, nausea, and asthenia, but usually occurs only in association with the first of any series of weekly infusions. The severity of these reactions is influenced by the rate of infusion, and the syndrome is the consequence of cytokines released from immune cells. Severe hypotension, bronchospasm, hypoxia, and even death have occurred. A true tumor lysis syndrome may occur if there are large numbers of proliferating antigen-positive cells in the blood. Symptoms related to the infusion reaction are ameliorated by slowing or stopping the infusion and administering antiinflammatory agents and antihistamines.
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PMID:Unique aspects of supportive care using monoclonal antibodies in cancer treatment. 1862 30

Trastuzumab (Herceptin) is well documented in reducing suffering and mortality from breast cancer. The clinically most important side effect of Herceptin is cardiotoxicity, which is reported in 2.6% to 4.5% of patients receiving trastuzumab alone and in as many as 27% of patients when trastuzumab is combined with an anthracycline in metastatic disease. We reported the case of a 50-year-old woman who presented to our emergency department (ED) because of chest pain and shortness of breath. On physical examination, holosystolic murmur over apex could be heard. Pulmonary and abdominal examinations were unremarkable. Twelve-lead electrocardiography showed sinus tachycardia and new onset of complete left bundle-branch block. Emergent transthoracic echocardiography revealed generalized hypokinesia of left ventricle and akinesia over interventricular septum and apex. She subsequently underwent immediate coronary angiography that revealed normal coronary angiography, and left ventriculogram revealed generalized hypokinesia with severe left ventricle dysfunction with ejection fraction of 33%. During right heart catheterization and endomyocardial biopsy, cardiac tamponade developed and was successfully relieved by pericardial window. She was discharged event-free 3 weeks later with conservative treatment. Although new onset of complete left bundle-branch block in a patient with chest pain may be acute coronary syndrome, careful review of medicine history is mandatory to avoid unnecessary procedure and complications.
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PMID:Trastuzumab (Herceptin)-associated cardiomyopathy presented as new onset of complete left bundle-branch block mimicking acute coronary syndrome: a case report and literature review. 1968 38

A 70-year-old woman with breast cancer treated with hormonal therapy had progressive shortness of breath for one month. Chest radiograph and computed tomography showed mild interstitial changes, but could not account for her respiratory failure. Lymphangitic carcinomatosis, drug-induced pneumonitis, idiopathic interstitial pneumonitis, opportunistic infection, and pulmonary edema were considered in the differential diagnosis of the CT findings. A perfusion scan revealed numerous small subsegmental perfusion defects in both lung fields. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) contained some cancer cells, suggesting lymphangitic carcinomatosis. Transbronchial biopsy (TBLB) specimen showed tumor emboli in small pulmonary arteries. Immunohistochemical findings of TBLB specimen were consistent with breast cancer cells. A diagnosis of tumor microembolism caused by breast cancer metastasis was made. Antemortem diagnosis of tumor microembolism is very difficult. Here, we report a case of tumor microembolism diagnosed by perfusion scan and TBLB.
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PMID:[A case of tumor microembolism diagnosed by perfusion scan and transbronchial lung biopsy]. 1976 10

In order to examine the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-P) in combination with bevacizumab (B) and gemcitabine (G) for the first-line treatment of patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC). In this single-center, open-label phase II trial, patients with HER2-negative MBC received gemcitabine 1500 mg/m(2), nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m(2), and bevacizumab 10 mg/kg (each administered intravenously) on days 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. The primary end point was progression free survival (PFS); secondary end points were overall response rate (ORR), complete (CR) and partial (PR) response rates, clinical benefit (ORR + stable disease), overall survival (OS), and safety. Thirty patients were enrolled. One patient was ineligible and was not included in analysis. Median PFS was 10.4 months (95% CI: 5.6-15.2 months). ORR was 75.9%, comprising eight (27.6%) CRs and 14 (48.3%) PRs; five patients had stable disease (SD) and two patients (6.9%) had progressive disease (PD) as their best response. The clinical benefit rate was 93.1% (27/29) in the overall group and 84.6% in the triple-negative cohort (11/13). The 18-month survival rate was 77.2% (95% CI: 51.1-90.5%). Eight (27.6%) patients experienced grade 3 or 4 toxicity: grade 4 neutropenic fever (n = 1) and grade 3 infection (n = 6), leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, peripheral neuropathy, seizure, shortness of breath, hematuria, and cardiac tamponade (one each). First-line therapy with nab-P, B, and G demonstrated a median PFS of 10.4 months and a 75.9% ORR with acceptable toxicity; this novel combination warrants investigation in a randomized study.
Breast Cancer Res Treat 2010 Sep
PMID:Final results of a phase II study of nab-paclitaxel, bevacizumab, and gemcitabine as first-line therapy for patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. 2058 51


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