Radiation Therapy for Advanced Mucinous Carcinoma of the Breast With a Malignant Wound: A Case Report

Abstract

Patients with breast cancer who refuse standard treatment often suffer from malignant wounds due to the growth of local tumors. However, treatment strategies for patients with unresectable locally advanced breast cancer who refuse standard treatment remain unclear. Usually, such cases are treated with palliative irradiation and do not achieve local control by irradiation alone. This is the first case report discussing the role of high-dose local irradiation and the treatment course for a patient with a massive breast tumor (mucinous adenocarcinoma) who refused standard treatment. A 44-year-old female was diagnosed with mucinous carcinoma of the breast in the right breast (cT1N0M0, cStage I). She refused standard treatment for six years. She visited the emergency department because of acute bleeding from the right breast with malignant wounds. Macroscopically, the tumor in the right breast measured over 20 cm in diameter. The tumor was exudative, exhibited ulceration and slight bleeding, and emitted an odor. Imaging findings showed multiple lymph nodes and bone metastases, and the final diagnosis was stage IV breast cancer (cT4bN1M1). Although the surgeon recommended chemotherapy for breast cancer, the patient refused chemotherapy or other therapy due to concerns regarding treatment-related complications. Considering the symptoms of advanced breast cancer with malignant wounds, she finally agreed to receive radiation therapy (RT). We performed RT at 70 Gy in 35 fractions over seven weeks. The tumor-associated symptoms disappeared after RT. Three months after RT, the tumor had almost disappeared. We administered luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists after RT. Two years after RT, she died due to multiple liver metastases and ascites; however, there was no disease progression in the right breast. High-dose RT for locally advanced mucinous carcinoma of the breast with malignant wounds is considered an effective therapeutic option.