Treatment strategy of breast carcinoma in the elderly patient-surgery, hormone therapy, and chemotherapy

We report an elderly breast carcinoma patient with complication. The patient was a 91-year-old woman who had breast lump. The tumor was 3 cm in diameter. A core needle biopsy for breast tumor led to a diagnosis of an invasive ductal carcinoma positive for estrogen receptor and progesteron receptor, and positive for HER2/neu protein expression. She received tumorectomy. After operation, she was administered aromatase inhibitor. After six months from operation, metastases of lymph nodes and lung were observed. Although she had administered another aromatase inhibitor, the metastases were rapidly growing. Eight months after operation, she died from carcinomatous lymphangitis. Even the less invasive operation by local anesthesia can progress metastases rapidly in elderly breast cancer patients. This case suggested that a treatment strategy for elderly breast cancer patients should have been determined carefully.