Symptom management supported by photodynamic therapy in case of dysphagia due to breast cancer gastric metastasis
Artur Pakosz
Advances in Palliative Medicine 2007;6(4):147-152.
open access
Vol 6, No 4 (2007)
Case reports
Published online: 2008-02-20
Abstract
Breast cancer in its advanced form constitutes a malignant neoplasm often causing metastases to distant
organs - especially bones, lungs and brain. Diagnostic studies rarely refer to untypical locations, which
- especially after a radical treatment of the basic illness - may lead to erroneous diagnoses, which in turn
may expose the patient to an ineffective and dangerous treatment. This study presents a case of a patient
radically treated due to the left breast cancer who after the period of two years exhibited symptoms of
increasing dysphagia. At first a gastric lymphoma was diagnosed, deriving from the lymphocytes B, or an
anaplastic gastric cancer. A bad general condition of the patient did not allow to introduce chemotherapy,
the patient was subject to a photodynamic endoscopic therapy six times, obtaining a complete symptom
relief liquidation and an improvement of the general condition. The progress of the neoplastic disease
observed during the symptom treatment in the palliative care consulting centre and hospitalization allowed
to diagnose a gastric metastasis of the breast cancer.
Abstract
Breast cancer in its advanced form constitutes a malignant neoplasm often causing metastases to distant
organs - especially bones, lungs and brain. Diagnostic studies rarely refer to untypical locations, which
- especially after a radical treatment of the basic illness - may lead to erroneous diagnoses, which in turn
may expose the patient to an ineffective and dangerous treatment. This study presents a case of a patient
radically treated due to the left breast cancer who after the period of two years exhibited symptoms of
increasing dysphagia. At first a gastric lymphoma was diagnosed, deriving from the lymphocytes B, or an
anaplastic gastric cancer. A bad general condition of the patient did not allow to introduce chemotherapy,
the patient was subject to a photodynamic endoscopic therapy six times, obtaining a complete symptom
relief liquidation and an improvement of the general condition. The progress of the neoplastic disease
observed during the symptom treatment in the palliative care consulting centre and hospitalization allowed
to diagnose a gastric metastasis of the breast cancer.
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