The woman's breast mass recurred and grew rapidly to 13 centimeters, accompanied by a temperature over 39℃ for several days .....
The Breast Surgery Department of Hainan Cancer Hospital, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team, meticulously investigated and identified the culprit behind the high fever, and implemented precise treatment based on individualized diagnosis and treatment plans.
On June 4th, the patient's condition stabilized and they were successfully discharged from the hospital.
Multidisciplinary consultation to identify the culprit behind high fever
Half a year ago, Ms. Wang, a 35-year-old resident of Baoting, underwent a local excision of a lump in her left breast at a local hospital. The postoperative pathology revealed a "borderline breast phyllodes tumor," which has an extremely high recurrence rate. As expected, shortly after the surgery, the tumor quietly recurred in situ.
Upon detecting tumor recurrence, Ms. Wang did not immediately go to the hospital for further treatment, but instead resorted to conservative treatment with "folk remedies". However, instead of shrinking, the tumor continued to grow rapidly, and the local skin of her breast became red and swollen, almost ulcerating. In desperation, she went to the breast surgery department of Hainan Cancer Hospital for treatment.
Upon examination, the doctor found that the tumor was 13 centimeters in diameter, resembling a dragon fruit in size, and had almost filled the entire breast. To make matters worse, after being admitted to the hospital, Ms. Wang continued to have a high fever, with her temperature once exceeding 39℃. Despite symptomatic treatment, her symptoms remained unrelieved.
Persistent high fever not only prevents Ms. Wang from receiving anti-tumor treatment, but also further aggravates organ damage, and in severe cases, may even lead to multiple organ failure.
To identify the cause of the high fever, the doctor conducted a comprehensive investigation and basically ruled out the possibility of infection in other systems of the body, but the root cause of the persistent high fever remained unclear. To accurately assess the condition, the breast surgery department invited experts from multiple disciplines, including oncology, radiotherapy, critical care medicine, and anesthesiology, to conduct a joint consultation.
After expert discussion, it was unanimously agreed that the persistent high fever was likely to originate from the tumor itself. A huge tumor acts as an "allogeneic antigen" in the body, continuously stimulating the immune system. Coupled with the inflammation caused by necrosis within the tumor, it is the core reason for the persistent high fever. Only by surgically removing the lesion as soon as possible can the high fever be controlled.
Liu Xia, Deputy Director of Breast Surgery, is visiting patients
Multidisciplinary collaboration, precise treatment
Under normal circumstances, surgery is not recommended for patients in a state of high fever. However, for Ms. Wang's specific condition, a multidisciplinary expert team tailored an individualized comprehensive treatment plan to ensure the safety of the surgery.
Before surgery, for such large recurrent and refractory tumors, the radiotherapy department adopted the advanced "implantation radiotherapy" (also known as brachytherapy) to achieve rapid tumor shrinkage in a short period of time.
Luo Yunxiu, deputy director of the third ward of the radiotherapy department, introduced that this technique involves placing the radioactive source directly into the tumor lesion, utilizing radiation to kill tumor cells at close range, thereby effectively inhibiting tumor activity. Compared to conventional radiotherapy, implantable radiotherapy has prominent advantages of precision, efficiency, and safety, and can protect the normal tissues around the breast to the greatest extent.
Under the comprehensive guidance of the anesthesiology department, the surgery was performed by Liu Xia, the deputy director of breast surgery. The recurrent tumor had abundant blood supply, making the dissection during the operation quite challenging. Liu Xia performed layered separation with meticulous techniques and successfully removed the lesion completely. To maximize the preservation of the original breast skin, the surgical team abandoned the traditional skin flap transplantation approach and implemented an individualized breast skin shaping and repair procedure, relying on the patient's own skin tissue to complete wound repair.
Subsequently, patients will undergo adjuvant radiotherapy according to the treatment plan developed by the radiotherapy team, to consolidate the benefits of surgery and strictly control recurrence.
After the surgery, Ms. Wang quickly lost her fever and her condition stabilized.
Experts remind: do not blindly adjust lifestyle after tumor recurrence
In clinical practice, some tumors exhibit active proliferation, high recurrence risk, and rapid lesion progression, with visible enlargement within a short period of time. Borderline breast phyllodes tumors fall into this category.
Liu Xia reminds that many patients, upon tumor recurrence, tend to take chances, opt for conservative observation, or resort to folk remedies, thus easily missing the optimal treatment window.
Therefore, it is imperative to follow the doctor's advice for standardized treatment after breast tumor surgery, and to undergo regular follow-up examinations and visits. If there are any signs of recurrence of the lump, abnormal enlargement, or unexplained fever, medical intervention should be sought immediately, rather than delaying and waiting, or blindly resorting to conservative treatment, which could potentially worsen the condition.
Expert Introduction
Liu Xia
Deputy Director of Breast Surgery, Breast Tumor Center
Master's degree in clinical medicine
Deputy Chief Physician of Oncology Surgery
Intermediate level in general surgery and plastic surgery
Medical expertise
She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, particularly in minimally invasive and breast plastic surgery techniques, and has extensive experience in early diagnosis and comprehensive management of breast cancer.
Clinic Hours
Monday morning, Wednesday morning
Luo Yunxiu
Deputy Director of Ward 3, Radiotherapy Department
Chief Physician
Doctor of Medicine PI
Medical expertise
Specialties: Head and neck tumors (including brain, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, larynx, parotid gland, sinuses, esophagus, etc.); breast cancer; digestive system tumors (including liver cancer, pancreas, stomach, rectum, pancreatic head, gallbladder cancer, etc.); urogenital tumors (including cervical cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer); radiation therapy for pediatric tumors, soft tissue sarcomas, chest tumors, and rare tumors; integration of multimodal advanced radiotherapy techniques for the treatment of difficult and complex intractable tumors; extensive experience in the prevention and diagnosis of complications from tumor chemoradiotherapy.
Clinic Hours
Monday morning