One year of complete clinical response in a metastatic breast cancer patient treated with a combination of lapatinib and gemcitabine.

The treatment of metastatic breast cancer is challenging. We recently assisted in the development of targeted therapies (in combination with chemotherapy or as monotherapy) that have improved results for selected groups of patients. Lapatinib is a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has shown efficacy in breast cancer. Consequently, its use has been approved, in combination with capecitabine, for the treatment of disease positive for the human epidermal growth factor receptor. Here, we present a case of complete clinical response to a combination of lapatinib and gemcitabine that was maintained for 1 year.

Isolated colorectal liver metastases locally progressing after stereotactic body radiotherapy rescued with surgery.

Treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer has changed in recent years, with many patients now being offered intent-to-treat regimens. In this context, a multidisciplinary approach to the metastatic disease may lead to individualized treatment for any patient. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is not the most common treatment. Here, we present the clinical case of a patient with a solitary liver metastasis initially treated with SBRT that was rescued with surgery when a local recurrence was detected.