Background: Over the years, the prognosis following treatment of a primary cancer has significantly improved. However, the growing population of these cancer survivors has led to the realization of multiple longterm complications secondary to their treatment. One of the most devastating long-term complications is the development of a second malignancy.
Case reports: We report here the case of a 34-year-old man who developed stage IIB node-positive breast cancer almost 15 years following total body irradiation and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. To our knowledge, this is only the second report of a male breast cancer following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT).
Conclusion: Survivors of primary cancer need lifelong monitoring for complications from their initial therapy.
(c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel