Primary pure squamous cell carcinoma of the breast might be sensitive to Cisplatin-based chemotherapy

Pure squamous cell carcinoma of the breast (PSCCB) is a rare condition. Surgery is usually the initial treatment. In some cases, complete excision of the tumor may be enough, while in other cases a mastectomy is required. In the literature, studies reported that PSCCB is an extremely aggressive disease associated with frequent locoregional and distant relapses and resultant death. Better therapy is therefore needed to improve patients' outcome. A literature review revealed that several patients with locoregional and distant metastasis were successfully treated using cisplatin-based regimens. I encountered a case of a patient with PSCCB who received neoadjuvant therapy using cytoxan, epirubicin, and fluorouracil without any response. Therefore, she underwent a mastectomy with lymph node dissection. Local recurrence occurred 3 weeks after surgery. She was started on taxotere and cisplatin. Four months after therapy, the recurrent tumors completely regressed. At this point, there is only circumstantial evidence that cisplatin-based regimens could be a promising option for the treatment of PSCCB. Clinical trials including large series of PSCCB are needed to increase our knowledge.