Background: Small-cell carcinoma of the breast is a rare disease with little research outlining molecular targets or optimal therapeutic management. We summarize a young female patient with poorly differentiated high-grade carcinoma with neuroendocrine features/small-cell carcinoma. Case presentation: A 31-year-old female presented with a large left breast mass. Initial biopsy revealed small-cell, triple-negative breast carcinoma. Treatment consisted of cisplatin and etoposide but was poorly tolerated and discontinued after one cycle. Combination abraxane/atezolizumab resulted in transient partial response in tumor size with 7 months of progression-free stability. Worsening metastatic disease was found 8 months after initial biopsy on radiologic studies and the patient expired 10 months after initial biopsy. Conclusion: Transient benefit in response to combination abraxane/atezolizumab was demonstrated.

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Immunotherapy is an emerging area in cancer research which utilizes the body's immune system to target cancerous cells. This offers oncologists an effective alternative to standard chemotherapy options, which often have significant side effects. Additionally, biomarkers including PD-L1 positivity to predict response to immunotherapy are currently under investigation. The patient presented with a rare type of aggressive breast cancer that previously had few treatment options. This report demonstrates the use of biomarker assessment (PD-L1) to predict immunotherapy response. The patient responded well to immunotherapy, and radiologic scans demonstrated tumor reduction. Further research into this field has the implication to improve treatments, decrease side effects of chemotherapy and improve patient outcomes for many cancers.

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Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest

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Vol. 14, No. 9

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History

Received 23 April 2021

Accepted 1 April 2022

Published online 28 April 2022

Published in print June 2022

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge C Egan for her contributions related to author support and collaboration. The authors would also like to acknowledge B Marr for her competent and knowledgeable assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants, or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained verbal and written informed consent from the patient/patients for the inclusion of their medical and treatment history within this case report.

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Small-cell breast carcinoma with response to atezolizumab: a case report

Abstract

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References