Efficacy and safety of liposomal doxorubicin in a patient treated for metastatic breast cancer

Liposomal doxorubicin is a newer form of chemotherapeutic agents that, due to its own special properties, preferably accumulates in cancer tissue. On the other hand, it shows lower affinity to cardiomyocytes and in this way is less cardiotoxic. As a result of that, there is the possibility to use liposomal form of doxorubicin until disease progression or chemotherapy intolerance in palliative setting, without treatment cessation after reaching the maximum cumulative dose of conventional doxorubicin. In this article we describe the case of a female patient diagnosed with breast cancer who was primary treated with adjuvant treatment, including chemotherapy and in whom a disease recurrence occurred after seven years of observation. As a primary palliative treatment the patient received chemotherapy based on liposomal doxorubicin and cyclofosphamide with a very good tolerance. The initial response was partial remission in lungs and in mediastinal lymph nodes. During the whole course of therapy there were no pathological changes in electrocardiogram, no signs and no symptoms of congestive heart failure, and the left ventricular ejection fraction was within normal limits.