toremifene and Pleural-Effusion--Malignant

The patient was a 76-year-old woman, who found a mass in her left breast around summer of 2003 but ignored it. She visited our hospital in April 2004 because of dyspnea and low-back pain. As there was a mass accompanied by partial ulceration all over the left precordium and bilateral pleural effusion, she was admitted for further evaluation and treatment. The patient was judged to be almost in a life-threatening condition, and thus thoracentesis was performed to remove pleural fluid, and chemotherapy with FEC was also performed. In addition, the patient was placed on oral exemestane (EXE). After four courses of therapy with FEC were completed, the drug was changed to paclitaxel (PTX) and chemotherapy was continued for another 3 months. It was confirmed that the tumor size had been reduced markedly and that the volume of pleural effusion had not increased. The patient was in a state of remission for a short time, but subsequently the tumor size increased again and the tumor bled continually in small amounts. The chemotherapeutic drug was changed to capecitabine, while EXE, which had been continued, was withdrawn and oral administration of 120 mg/day of toremifene (TOR) was started. However, the tumor size was not reduced. TOR was continued, while capecitabine was changed to docetaxel (DOC). Then, the tumor size was reduced again, until the breast became almost flat after 3 months and the patient no longer bled from the tumor. The volume of pleural effusion did not increase, nor did the patient have any more dyspnea. At present, she has been in a state of remission and is living at home with a certain QOL.

Topics: Aged; Androstadienes; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Bone Neoplasms; Breast Neoplasms; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast; Cyclophosphamide; Docetaxel; Drug Administration Schedule; Epirubicin; Female; Fluorouracil; Humans; Paclitaxel; Pleural Effusion, Malignant; Pleural Neoplasms; Quality of Life; Remission Induction; Taxoids; Toremifene