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Topic: Success of Chemo before Surgery

Forum: ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma) — Just diagnosed, in treatment, or finished treatment for ILC.

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Posted on: Jan 28, 2008 06:43PM

ck55 wrote:

Hi All,

I was wondering how many of you had chemo before surgery (neo-adjunt sp?), what kind you had and how successful it was?

I am just curious, with all the talk of ILC not being that responsive to chemo, if any of you did have a good response before surgery? I had chemo after, so there is really no way to know what kind of response I had in zapping any sneakly little cells out there.

Just curious. Cyndi

DX 11/9/06 9cm ILC Stage 3A Mastectomy ER+ PR+ HR- 2/16 Nodes DD AC/Taxol Radiation
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Jan 29, 2008 12:03PM shrink wrote:

Hi Cyndi:  I had neoadjuvant chemo (AC and T) for 6 months prior to surgery.  The 6 cm tumor shrunk a lot so that it was at least operable.  I had a MRM in Dec.  The pathology report showed many nodes still with cancer in them.  So, I guess you could say I'm a partial responder.  I'm now going through radiation and additional oral chemo.

Dx 5/23/2007, IBC, 6cm+, Stage IIIC, Grade 3, 21/21 nodes, ER+/PR-, HER2-
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Jan 29, 2008 12:30PM ck55 wrote:

Shrink, Thanks for the info. It is good news that there was some response! It is nice to know that there is a reason for going through all this c%$p!

Hope your radiation is going well!?

Cyndi 

  

DX 11/9/06 9cm ILC Stage 3A Mastectomy ER+ PR+ HR- 2/16 Nodes DD AC/Taxol Radiation
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Jan 29, 2008 01:38PM mkl48 wrote:

HI,

I had neo- Femara instead of neo chemo because of the relative lack of response to chemo for ILC.I  had a partial response. The ILC guru, Dr, CHristifinilli- MDA- has published a study in which ILC neo response to chemo is a not as prognostic as in IDC- IE the women often do better than their chemo response would suggest. A sudy from FRance, somewhere on this board ,suggests that since the response to chemo is so modest, immediate surgery is really the best tx. Then chemo, rads if indicated and always hormones if ER+ and HER if Her + Beth

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Feb 2, 2008 03:36PM elaine41 wrote:

Hi Cyndi,

I was diagnosed with ILC in 8/07.  I started neoadjuvent treatment right away- 4cycles of AC every 2 weeks, and 4 of Taxotere every 2 weeks.  The tumor shrunk from 5cm to 1.5.  However, I did have 13/17 nodes positive. I'm doing radiation and hormone therapy now.

Dx 8/13/2007, ILC, 5cm, Grade 2, 13/17 nodes, ER+/PR-, HER2-
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Feb 4, 2008 02:02PM ck55 wrote:

Hi Elaine,

Wow, that is a pretty good response and good to hear. I did the 4 dose dense AC and 4 dose dense Taxol. With all the talk about how few women benefit from chemo, it makes one wonder.

What kind of hormone therapy are you on? I am taking femara and having some joint pain issues (fingers and feet) but nothing I can't handle.

Cyndi

DX 11/9/06 9cm ILC Stage 3A Mastectomy ER+ PR+ HR- 2/16 Nodes DD AC/Taxol Radiation
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Feb 5, 2008 06:03PM elaine41 wrote:

Hi Cyndi,

I am currently on Tamoxifen.  The only side effects I have had so far have been frequent hot flashes.  They only last a few minutes, so not that bad.  I think that once you go through chemo, you can handle most other side effects.  Have you done radiation?

Elaine

Dx 8/13/2007, ILC, 5cm, Grade 2, 13/17 nodes, ER+/PR-, HER2-
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Feb 5, 2008 08:31PM Lindad wrote:


I'm strongly er/pr+ and my Femara (hormone therapy, pre-adjuvant) has stopped my cancer in its tracks.  I'm stage IV with bone mets that are 'blastic and those are "stable" and the > 5cm breast tumor is greatly reduced(80%) (I've had fibrous thickening since 15yrs of age and I'm now 67) and blood markers  have dropped like a rock.  No surgery in sight  or other changes in treatment unless/until I get resistant to Femara.
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Feb 19, 2008 09:08PM mariana wrote:

Where your neo-adjuvant was done? I am in New York was

offered 4ACx x 4T.With Femara mild side effects I >5cm,er/pr+,her-postmenopause))would like to go for neo-adjuvant  therapy. 

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Feb 20, 2008 08:33PM Gitane wrote:

From what I have learned so far, response to chemo isn't as important in ILC as in IDC. You can be hopeful, I think, that the chemo will help you. I had pleomorphic lobular cancer. I was told this responds differently than ILC, so I don't know if this information will be of use to you. I had an MRI, SNB, dose dense AC X 4, mastectomy, MRI, then AC x 2. My tumors, there were many, shrank from nodules to "discontinuous nests", but the cancer didn't go away completely. The MRI indicated greater than 90% reduction. Chemosensitivity testing done after surgery indicated that the residual cancer cells would not respond to any other chemos except AC, so that is why I had two more AC after surgery and not a Taxane. My chemo ended in Jan. 2006. I'm on Femara now. My tumor was ER+PR-. Femara may not work, so I hope with everything that's in me that the chemo worked.

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Feb 21, 2008 12:30PM nash wrote:

Gitane--I have pleomorphic ILC, too, and was told that pleomorphic ILC tends to act more like a high grade IDC. Is that pretty much what the docs told you?

Stage IV Pleomorphic ILC, initially diagnosed at age 38 Dx 6/7/2007, ILC, Left, 2cm, Stage IV, metastasized to bone, Grade 2, 0/4 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2- (FISH) Surgery 7/19/2007 Lumpectomy: Left; Lymph node removal: Sentinel Chemotherapy 8/1/2007 CAF Radiation Therapy 12/27/2007 Whole-breast: Breast, Chest wall Hormonal Therapy 3/1/2008 Tamoxifen pills (Nolvadex, Apo-Tamox, Tamofen, Tamone) Dx 4/24/2015, ILC, Left, 1cm, Stage IV, metastasized to other, Grade 2, 0/10 nodes, ER+/PR+ Surgery 5/15/2015 Mastectomy; Reconstruction (left): Latissimus dorsi flap Dx 2/1/2018, ILC, Right, 6cm+, Stage IV, metastasized to other, Grade 3, ER+/PR+ Chemotherapy 2/15/2018 Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide), Taxol (paclitaxel), Taxotere (docetaxel) Dx 6/20/2018, ILC, Both breasts, 6cm+, Stage IV, metastasized to brain/bone, Grade 3, ER+/PR+ Targeted Therapy 7/1/2018 Ibrance (palbociclib) Dx 7/17/2020, ILC, Both breasts, 6cm+, Stage IV, metastasized to brain/bone, Grade 2, ER+/PR+, HER2- (FISH) Chemotherapy 7/17/2020 Xeloda (capecitabine) Radiation Therapy 7/23/2020 Hormonal Therapy Faslodex (fulvestrant), Zoladex (goserelin) Radiation Therapy External: Brain
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Feb 21, 2008 01:43PM Gitane wrote:

Hi Nash, yes, that's what I was told. I was so worried about prognosis, still am, who am I kidding, that I went to see the pathologist. He really wanted to help me understand my cancer, but told me there was no way of knowing my prognosis. Was he telling me all he knows? I don't know. Do you feel that we are a bit isolated from the other ILC's and IDC's because we're pleomorphic? I feel that way sometimes.

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