A case report of targeted therapy with anlotinib in a patient with advanced breast metaplastic carcinoma

Abstract

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare malignant breast tumor, and no effective chemotherapy unique to metaplastic carcinoma exists. As MBC is typically “triple negative”, endocrine therapy and molecular therapy targeted to Her2 might not be favorable, resulting in a poor prognosis. Anlotinib is currently being tested in patients with breast or cancer. Here, we report a successful case in which anlotinib was used to treat MBC. A 54-year-old female patient visited the hospital after the discovery of a left breast tumor 10 months prior, and tumor redness and swelling had lasted for more than one month. After admission, relevant examinations were performed. After left breast tumor puncture revealed left emulsified biological cancer, the tumor significantly increased in size, and bleeding was obvious after 2 cycles of the “EC” chemotherapy regimen. The curative effect was evaluated as progressive disease (PD). After two cycles of chemotherapy with the “PCb” regimen, the efficacy was still PD. The Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score of the patient after 4 cycles of chemotherapy was 60 points, with severe anemia, and she could not tolerate chemotherapy. The patient was given radiotherapy to stop bleeding, and the tumor further increased in size during radiotherapy. The curative effect was evaluated as PD. After a multidisciplinary consultation in our hospital, we initiated oral anlotinib (12 mg; 2 weeks on, 1 week off). The tumor significantly decreased in size after taking anlotinib, and the efficacy was evaluated as PR. Adverse reactions during treatment were controlled, and progression-free survival (PFS) reached up to 25+ months. The follow-up is ongoing. The patient has provided written informed consent for the case details and images to be published, and at the same time institutional approval was required to publish the case details, we report this case.