The first case of breast cancer in thalassemic patient: case report and review of literature

Abstract

Thalassemias are genetic disorders characterized by decreased synthesis of one of the globin chains. Beta-thalassemia is caused by impairment in the production of beta-globin chains leaving the excess alpha chains unstable. With better treatment approaches and improvement in chelation therapy, thalassemic patients are living longer. As a consequence, new complications and associations with other conditions including malignancy have emerged. The occurrence of malignancies in thalassemia has rarely been reported, and our review of the literature revealed only few cases. We report the first case of a thalassemic patient developing breast cancer and discuss the possibility of a link between the two disease entities. This case is intended to alert physicians of the possibility of a malignancy in thalassemia patients.

Malignancies and thalassemia: a review of the literature

“…One patient in the United Kingdom died of breast cancer, 2 and one additional case has recently been reported. 31 We diagnosed, not without difficulty, a calcified meningioma in the spinal canal of a thalassemia major patient in whom the existence of a mass of extramedullary erythropoiesis or of an epidural hematoma had been suspected. 32 The only study that we are aware of that evaluated the risk of cancer in patients with thalassemia trait found a prevalence of neoplastic disease significantly higher than in the general population, being particularly elevated for gastric cancer.…”

“…Govoni et al 18 5 TM Papillary thyroid cancer Poggi et al 19 2 TM Papillary thyroid cancer Alavi et al 14 2 Hodgkin lymphoma/chronic myelogenous leukemia Maakaron et al 26 2 T I H C C Ansari et al 27 1 H C C Borgna-Pignatti et al 22 62 TM (32) ST (2) TI (28) HCC Ricchi et al 30 3 T M R e n a l c e l l c a r c i n o m a Picardo et al 31 1 Breast cancer TM, thalassemia major; TI, thalassemia intermedia; ST: sickle thalassemia.…”

“…One patient in the United Kingdom died of breast cancer, and one additional case has recently been reported …”

The prevalence and genetic disorders spectrum of thalassemia among breast cancer patients in Jiangxi province, China

“…Some scholars even believed that patients with thalassemia would be more likely to suffer from cancer. E. Picardo et al first reported a unique patient of breast cancer with thalassemia intermediate receiving regular red blood cell transfusions since she was two years old and began desferrioxamine after 10 transfusions ( Picardo et al, 2015 ). The occurrence of breast cancer in patients with thalassemia may not be a pure coincidence.…”

“…Quite few studies have reported the occurrence of breast cancer among patients with thalassemia worldwide. After an extensive review of the literatures in PUBMED database, we found a case report on breast cancer in thalassemic patient ( Picardo et al, 2015 ). However, neither the incidence nor the genetic mutation spectrum of thalassemia has been reported yet among breast cancer patients all over the world.…”