Journal of Clinical Case Reports
Open Access

Abstract

Introduction: The increase in survival after childhood radiation therapy for some blood malignancies has led to increase in the diagnosis of radiation induced secondary solid malignancies (SSM). Diagnostic and therapeutic radiation is a known risk factor for malignancy. Although rare, it has been demonstrated in the literature that diagnostic and therapeutic radiation is associated with breast cancer in women. Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare condition, accounting for approximately 1% of all breast cancers. Not surprisingly, there is a paucity of case reports in the literature describing radiation as a risk factor for cancer in men. Case Report: Herein we report a young man presenting with invasive breast cancer 19 years after receiving radiation therapy and bone marrow transplant (BMT) for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in childhood. After standard diagnostic and metastatic workup, treatment included neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery and adjuvant radiation therapy and adjuvant hormonal therapy. Outcome and follow up data are reported in the paper as well. Discussion: Only two similar cases were reported earlier, for two patients who developed breast cancer 13 and 15 years after exposure to radiation therapy. Our case report extends the latency period to 19 years. The most important prognostic indicators were stage at diagnosis and lymph node status. Conclusion: Radiation induced MBC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of breast related symptoms, even with a very remote history of exposure. The younger the age of exposure, the more years the patient has at risk of breast cancer. It is important to attempt early detection in these patients before the disease progresses to an advanced stage. Survivors of radiation treated primary cancer should be closely monitored for SSM, including breast cancer, for the rest of their lives. Yearly clinical breast exams and selective imaging studies should probably be offered to the subgroup of male patients at higher risk, including those with early age at exposure (younger than 10 years), and those getting TBI for the treatment of ALL.

Biography

Jamila Alazhri was graduated with MBBS degree from the College of Medicine at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She has obtained two board certificates in General Surgery from the Saudi Board and the Arab Board. She has completed a Research Fellowship in Breast Cancer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA in 2013 followed by a 2-year Fellowship in Breast Surgical Oncology at the University of Miami Millar School of Medicine, FL, USA. She is currently a Consultant Breast Surgeon at King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. She has a huge interest in research, published many papers including basic science and clinical research and case reports in the field of breast cancer. She has presented her work at international conferences, such as ASCO, SSO and ASBrS.

Email: [email protected]