Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer with Osteoclast-Like Giant Cells: A Case Report Based on the Gene Expression Profile for Changes in Management

• Main Authors: Azzurra Irelli, Maria Maddalena Sirufo, Gina Rosaria Quaglione, Francesca De Pietro, Enrica Maria Bassino, Carlo D’Ugo, Lia Ginaldi, Massimo De Martinis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Journal of Personalized Medicine
• Subjects: rare breast cancer; osteoclast-like giant cells; gene profiling; Oncotype Dx; adjuvant treatment
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/11/2/156

We report the case of a 49-year-old woman diagnosed with a rare histotype of early breast cancer (BC), invasive ductal carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells (OGCs), from the perspective of gene profile analysis tests. The patient underwent a quadrantectomy of the right breast with removal of 2 cm neoplastic nodule and three ipsilateral sentinel lymph nodes. The Oncotype Dx gave a recurrence score (RS) of 23, and taking into account the patient’s age, an RS of 23 corresponds to a chemotherapy benefit of 6.5%. After a multidisciplinary collegial discussion, and in consideration of the patient’s age, the absence of comorbidity, the premenopausal state, the rare histotype and the Oncotype Dx report, the patient was offered adjuvant chemotherapy treatment followed by hormone therapy. This case may be an example of the utility of integrating gene expression profiling tests into clinical practice in the adjuvant treatment decision of a rare histotype BC. The Oncotype Dx test required to supplement the histological examination made us opt for the proposal of a combined treatment of adjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant hormone therapy. It demonstrates the importance of considering molecular tests and, in particular, the Oncotype Dx, in estimating the risk of disease recovery at 10 years in order to identify patients who benefit from hormone therapy alone versus those who benefit from the addition of chemotherapy, all with a view toward patient-centered oncology. Here, we discuss the possible validity and limitations of the Oncotype Dx in a rare luminal A-like histotype with high infiltrate of stromal/inflammatory cells.