[A case of recurrent breast cancer with carcinomatous pleurisy responding to bevacizumab and paclitaxel therapy].

A 57-year-old woman who had undergone muscle-preserving radical mastectomy at the age of 38 presented with a 5 cm mass in front of the breastbone. She was diagnosed as having recurrent breast cancer( estrogen receptor[ ER] positive, progesterone receptor[ PgR] positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor[ HER] -2 negative) by core needle biopsy. She received an aromatase inhibitor (AI) and showed partial response. At the age of 54, PgR status became negative. At the age of 55, the recurrent tumor increased in size, and the patient received 50 Gy of radiation therapy for its treatment and AI administration was continued. At the age of 57, tumor marker levels increased and detailed examination revealed that the recurrent tumor had increased in size and carcinomatous pleurisy was noted. Bevacizumab and paclitaxel therapy was initiated. Tumor marker levels decreased and the pleural fluid disappeared in 2 weeks. After 3 courses, positron emission tomography( PET) -computed tomography( CT) showed a reduction in the tumor size and a decrease in fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake. Bevacizumab and paclitaxel therapy could be effective for the treatment of patients with recurrent breast cancer with a life-threatening status, after hormone therapy failure. Bevacizumab and paclitaxel could be effective as first- line chemotherapy because of its good treatment efficiency.