Systemic Therapy in Local Recurrence of Breast Cancer, Report of a case and Decision Making in MDT Meeting

Locoregional recurrence of breast cancer has significantly decreased over the last decades, particularly due to effective systemic therapy. While there is little controversy regarding local management of locoregional recurrences, in light of previous systemic treatment, additional chemotherapy regimens and their benefit to the patient are still subject to debate in tumors boards.

A 45-year-old woman was referred to our tertiary care center with a local recurrence of breast cancer 9 years after modified radical mastectomy for a ypT2N2a invasive ductal carcinoma. She received neoadjuvant treatment consisting of FEC-D (5-FU-epirubicin-cyclophosphamide, followed by docetaxel) for hormone receptor positive, HER-2-neu negative cancer in 2009, as well as adjuvant radiotherapy and tamoxifen for 9 years. After R0 resection of the hormone receptor positive, HER-2-neu negative recurrence in 2019, adjuvant therapy with ovarian suppression and an aromatase inhibitor was undertaken. A multigene assay identified a recurrence score at 37 and benefit from chemotherapy > 15%.
Question: What would the ideal chemotherapy regimen consist of for this patient with an R0 resection of late recurrence of breast cancer?

After reviewing history, imaging and pathology, members of the multidisciplinary team recommended treatment with Taxotere and cyclophosphamide (TC) x 4 for our patient.