# Postoperative recurrence and systemic metastasis of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast: a case report including T-DXd treatment

**Authors:** Siying Zhu, Yinxi Qu, Dong Chen, Xiaomao Luo

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2026.1747084 · Frontiers in Oncology · 2026-02-13

## TL;DR

A rare case of aggressive breast cancer with liver and bone metastases showed improvement after treatment with T-DXd.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the potential efficacy of T-DXd in treating metastatic large-cell neuroendocrine breast carcinoma.

## Key findings

- Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) led to significant reduction in hepatic and peritoneal metastases.
- Partial response was observed as the best outcome following T-DXd treatment.
- LCNEC showed aggressive recurrence and metastasis despite prior chemotherapy and surgery.

## Abstract

We report a rare case of large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the breast in a 49-year-old woman. The patient presented after discovering a right breast mass five years earlier. Mammography revealed a high-density mass and enlarged axillary lymph nodes. Biopsy confirmed invasive carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation. Initially, she received TE chemotherapy, followed by carboplatin and etoposide (CBP) due to disease progression. After eight cycles, she underwent modified radical mastectomy and postoperative radiotherapy. One year later, the patient developed metastases in the liver and bones, with a liver biopsy confirming recurrent LCNEC. Given the aggressive nature of the disease, trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) was initiated on October 11, 2025. Follow-up imaging demonstrated significant reduction in hepatic and peritoneal metastases, with partial response (PR) as the best observed response. Treatment with T-DXd is ongoing, highlighting its efficacy in managing aggressive LCNEC with distant metastasis.

## Linked entities

- **Chemicals:** carboplatin (PubChem CID 426756), etoposide (PubChem CID 36462)
- **Diseases:** large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (MONDO:0005057)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** COL11A2 (collagen type XI alpha 2 chain) [NCBI Gene 1302] {aka DFNA13, DFNB53, FBCG2, HKE5, OSMEDA, OSMEDB}, PIK3CB (phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit beta) [NCBI Gene 5291] {aka P110BETA, PI3K, PI3KBETA, PIK3C1}, ERBB2 (erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2) [NCBI Gene 2064] {aka CD340, HER-2, HER-2/neu, HER2, MLN 19, MLN-19}, CD274 (CD274 molecule) [NCBI Gene 29126] {aka ADMIO5, B7-H, B7H1, PD-L1, PDCD1L1, PDCD1LG1}, TP53 (tumor protein p53) [NCBI Gene 7157] {aka BCC7, BMFS5, LFS1, P53, TRP53}, CHGA (chromogranin A) [NCBI Gene 1113] {aka CGA, PHE5, PHES}, EREG (epiregulin) [NCBI Gene 2069] {aka EPR, ER, Ep}, GATA3 (GATA binding protein 3) [NCBI Gene 2625] {aka HDR, HDRS}, SPATA2 (spermatogenesis associated 2) [NCBI Gene 9825] {aka PD1, PPP1R145, tamo}, RB1 (RB transcriptional corepressor 1) [NCBI Gene 5925] {aka OSRC, PPP1R130, RB, p105-Rb, p110-RB1, pRb}, KRT7 (keratin 7) [NCBI Gene 3855] {aka CK7, K2C7, K7, SCL}, NCAM1 (neural cell adhesion molecule 1) [NCBI Gene 4684] {aka CD56, MSK39, NCAM}, ALB (albumin) [NCBI Gene 213] {aka FDAHT, HSA, PRO0883, PRO0903, PRO1341}, PGR (progesterone receptor) [NCBI Gene 5241] {aka NR3C3, PR}, NR4A1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1) [NCBI Gene 3164] {aka GFRP1, HMR, N10, NAK-1, NGFIB, NP10}, SYP (synaptophysin) [NCBI Gene 6855] {aka MRX96, MRXSYP, XLID96}
- **Diseases:** ductal and lobular carcinoma (MESH:D018299), invasive ductal carcinoma (MESH:D044584), axillary lymphadenopathy (MESH:D008206), Primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the breast (MESH:D001943), ILD (MESH:D017563), carcinoid-like tumors (MESH:D002276), necrosis (MESH:D009336), neuroendocrine tumors (MESH:D018358), LCNEC (MESH:D018287), osteolytic lesion (MESH:D030981), pelvic mass (MESH:C536030), infectious diseases (MESH:D003141), invasive (MESH:D009361), liver lesion (MESH:D008107), nodal disease (MESH:D004194), bone metastasis (MESH:D009362), fibrosis (MESH:D005355), breast mass (MESH:D061325), lumbar and back pain (MESH:D001416), pleural (MESH:D010995), Cancer (MESH:D009369), cytotoxicity (MESH:D064420), bone destruction (MESH:D001847), anxiety (MESH:D001007), NECs (MESH:D018278)
- **Chemicals:** taxanes (MESH:D043823), trastuzumab deruxtecan (MESH:C000614160), TXT (MESH:D000077143), TE (MESH:D013691), CBP (-), platinum (MESH:D010984), anthracyclines (MESH:D018943), carboplatin (MESH:D016190), Hematoxylin (MESH:D006416), paclitaxel (MESH:D017239), trastuzumab (MESH:D000068878), toripalimab (MESH:C000656314), etoposide (MESH:D005047)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

16 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12945791/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12945791