Successful palliative hypofractionated radiotherapy with superficial hyperthermia for heavily pretreated cutaneous breast cancer lesions.
D M V de Vries-Huizing, A Holtmaat, M W Kolff et al.
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Case in brief
A 72-year-old woman with breast cancer developed painful, bleeding cutaneous metastases on her right upper arm and breast that substantially affected her quality of life. The lesions progressed during T-deruxtecan treatment, prompting referral for re-irradiation to control bleeding. She received weekly superficial hyperthermia immediately followed by 4 Gy radiotherapy, for five consecutive weeks. Bleeding decreased during treatment, and the skin healed within four weeks after therapy. The combined palliative treatment was reported as well tolerated, with full skin recovery within one month.
What made this case unusual
Hyperthermia was added to re-irradiation specifically to enhance treatment of bleeding cutaneous metastases; the report notes that this combination had not previously been described for skin hemostasis.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
For bleeding cutaneous breast cancer metastases in a previously irradiated area, this case illustrates a palliative approach combining superficial hyperthermia with weekly 4 Gy radiotherapy, with bleeding reduction during treatment and subsequent skin healing.