Prolonged Survival in Patients with Metastatic HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Jennifer Y Ge; Beth Overmoyer

doi:10.1159/000516760

Prolonged Survival in Patients with Metastatic HER2-Positive Inflammatory Breast Cancer: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Case Rep Oncol. 2021 Jul 6;14(2):1071-1079. doi: 10.1159/000516760. eCollection 2021 May-Aug.

Authors

Jennifer Y Ge^{1

2

3}, Beth Overmoyer^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
² Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare type of breast cancer that is associated with poor outcomes compared with non-IBC. Overexpression of HER2 is enriched in IBC, and those with HER2-positive disease have a relatively favorable prognosis, with improved survival over the last two decades driven by the advent of novel targeted therapies. Here, we present two patients who have survived for over 10 years after being diagnosed with de novo metastatic HER2-positive IBC. We review the data for the treatments available for metastatic HER2-positive IBC and the evolving treatment recommendations for this disease.

Keywords: Anti-HER2 therapy; HER2-positive breast cancer; Inflammatory breast cancer; Metastatic disease; Stage IV.

Publication types

Case Reports